


Hellfire

by emarosa



Series: A Siren's Song [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Humor, Creature Draco Malfoy, Dolores Umbridge is Her Own Warning, Getting Together, Good Severus Snape, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Implied/Referenced Mind Control, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Mutual Pining, Original Mythology, Second War with Voldemort, Siren Draco Malfoy, Sirens, Sirius Black Adopts Harry Potter, Sirius Black Lives, Slow Burn, Unresolved Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:15:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 25,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26154049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emarosa/pseuds/emarosa
Summary: Nothing could prepare Harry for his fifth year at Hogwarts. Despite spending the summer with his godfather and sitting in on Order of the Phoenix meetings, Voldemort is still at large. The entire Wizarding World sits in a tense wait, the Ministry is now involved in Hogwarts' business, and magical creatures are coming out of hiding in droves as the two sides recruit them for war.-Sirens have never been welcome, and the Ministry of Magic deciding to no longer hunt them to death doesn't change that. Sirens are feared, hated, and there are many still on the hunt for them. As Draco navigates life as a siren in a time where he can only trust his kind, he must also decide whether to follow his heart or bind himself to a life of what-ifs.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Original Male Character(s) (Brief), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: A Siren's Song [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899169
Comments: 50
Kudos: 312





	1. Order of the Phoenix

Draco wiped the blood from his mouth, wiping it off against his scales and letting the crimson dissipate in the water. The Death Eater that Andrew had yanked from his broom sank faster than an anchor towards the bottom of the ocean, face suspended in a state of shock, eyes wide with fear. 

"Is it just me, or are they getting easier to kill these days?" he asked, and Andrew scoffed as he swam over to him. 

There was blood splattered on the older siren's face, but it washed away as he dove under the surface and reappeared a foot away from Draco. 

"I think that you and Cassie should not have turned this into a game," Andrew replied, yet there was no bite to his words. 

To be fair, that was the very reason why he hadn't been allowed to patrol with his cousin that afternoon. Turning it into a game had added a lot more entertainment into the chore, neither could be blamed for that.

Draco splashed some water at him. "Says the guy who knocked a river rat off his broom at _twenty-five feet in the air!"_

Andrew feigned haughtiness. "It's okay to admit you're jealous, Dray. I assure you, one day you, too, will be as confident and brave in your prowess-"

Draco had leapt onto him, shoving Andrew's head underwater with a satisfying gurgle as his sentence was cut off. His victory was short-lived as Andy retaliated, grabbing Draco's hair to throw him off. The two scuffled until Draco was nearly skewered on the sharp spines of Andrew's dorsal fin--a result of a very dirty move on Andrew's part where he spun mid-grab and extended said fin--and Cassie wacked both of them with her freakishly long tail. 

"If you two children are done, Narcissa is ready with the evening tea. It'd be rude to keep her waiting any longer," she said, but not before curling into Andrew's side and cautiously scanning around them. They should have returned back under the scopuli wards once their patrol had ended. He hated when he worried her unnecessarily. She certainly already had enough on her plate these days. 

They dove under the surface a good fifty feet, in case there were any birds trying to catch a glimpse of where the wards for the Sirenum scopuli islands started. The islands' location now changed every three days, moving to a new corner of the world that had been decided only moments before the move, and there were patrols around the borderline 24/7. Death Eaters still managed to find them every few weeks, and the patrols were tasked with removing the threat before more of the sea rats could flock to them. 

Sometimes, it wasn't even Death Eaters they came across. Ministry officials, typically Aurors, trying to recruit them for the 'good fight.' They loved to wax poetry about how they wanted peace now, preached cooperation in order to win the war. While they were spared from death, they left with the clear message that siren-kind wanted nothing to do with the bastards after all they'd done to them. 

Sorry, but two events of mass genocide were hard to look past. 

When the Aurors found them, they moved within the hour. The Ministry had a sorry time trying to determine their location in comparison to the Death Eaters, which said everything you needed to know on how little they knew of siren culture and history. This wasn't Voldemort's first recruitment rodeo, and he knew having sirens on his side would win him the war in a heartbeat. 

Too bad you can't Imperio a siren. 

Draco dried off and threw on the first toga he saw, barely managing to not trip over himself as he made his way to the parlor for evening tea. Cassie and Andrew were already there, curled together on the loveseat like two elderly cats begrudgingly sharing a napping space. It was almost funny how grouchy they both looked, but Draco knew the truth. Both were exhausted and overworked, and running on fumes was beginning to catch up to them. It was the boat that everyone was in; they could only scoop out the building water in pails and dump it overboard so quickly. At this point, some were hoping it would just sink already and seal their fate. 

The French doors opened as he sat down in the seat next to his mother. She had already poured his cup and added his preferred amount of cream and sugar, and he murmured his thanks as his eyes trailed over to their guest. 

"It's that black cat, again," he announced, and his mother pushed away from her chair with a childlike glee. 

She poured some cream into a small dish and set it in front of the cat, which immediately purred with delight at the sight of the daily treat. 

"That cat has a _name,_ you know," his mother did not fail to remind him, "and he would appreciate it very much if you began to use it."

The cat in question, Koshka, chirped in response. The darn stray had somehow turned into their cat, all because Cassie had decided to feed it after the brat had followed her in from patrol one day. Granted, the cat did keep the mice away from the potions stores, and Draco only held a grudge against Koshka because of the motherly affection he stole from him. Draco would be fine, but ideally he would not have to compete with a feline for his mother's attention. 

-

"Promise you won't forget to write," Sirius reminded him for the twentieth time since they had left for the platform. 

"I promise, it's not like I can easily forget about you," Harry answered. 

Remus felt the need to add, "You act like you won't be visiting every weekend."

His husband rolled his eyes at him, the affection they held deep and on display for the whole world to see. Harry wanted to die of embarrassment, these two couldn't go anywhere in public without making heart eyes at each other. 

Moony and him got onto the train, finding a compartment to themselves. He wasn't sure where Ron or Hermione where at, but they'd definitely find each other once the train started moving. While he wasn't certain was this year at Hogwarts had in store for him, at least he'd have Moony there the whole way. His return as DADA professor was much anticipated, and Harry was grateful for some familiarity this year. Circe knows that last year was enough of a nightmare. Harry wondered if this one could throw anything at him that would beat the insanity of fourth year. 

He wouldn't have to wait very long to see. 


	2. Ashes, ashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all!!!! all the comments on Nightingale really hitting me in the feels. in other news, my roommate's pizza cutter sucks and I used a butcher knife to slice my pizza 4 dinner 😌

17 years ago. 1979. Winter.

The Oracles sat gathered around the reflecting pool, watching the stagnant water begin to dance in a series of twists and turns; its color evolving from a murky copper to a moonstone white-blue. The array of circles then collided in a violent crash that sent droplets spraying onto the Oracles' faces, and as the water descended back down to the pool, it settled in an instant, falling straight like the strings holding it up had been severed. It could have been described like blinking, and how upon reopening your eyes the pool appeared as though the water had not been disturbed in eons. The force of gravity was not welcome here, nor any other authority of nature. 

The balance was to be disrupted. Something dark--pure in its evil--would arrive in devastation upon them all. But, as nature does, the scale would find a way to right itself once more. 

The motionless moon water rippled with a sudden vitality, pulsating as it morphed to the inky black of a startled squid. One object breached the surface with a bob, riding the minuscule waves for a brief moment before being joined by a twin object, until the pool finally stilled once more. It was only then that the objects could be identified, two sleek feathers that couldn't be more than two inches in length. 

The most senior Oracle, Pythia, reached forth with steady hands, scoping up the feathers in cradled palms. She studied them for only a second before presenting her observations to her colleagues.

"Two feathers of a fledgling raven." 

The breath many were holding was released, pleased with the results of the prophecy. Evil was on the horizon, but hope followed in its shadow. 

Aegeus nodded in thought, hands pressed together, fingertips pressing in to the cusp of his chin. "Two Nightingales will play a part in the downfall of the Great Evil. The question is, which ones?"

Pythia wondered how Aegeus had gotten this far with such poor understandings of the most obvious of prophecies. Perhaps her colleague could predict how much she wanted to kick his ass. 

She spoke up, "They are fledgling feathers, it is likely that they have not been born yet. One will come before the other, but they will be of the same bloodline. We just need to closely watch the Nightingales born over the next few years, surely it cannot be that hard to deduce the prophecy children."

It, in fact, was actually near impossible to deduce which ones were the prophecy children. 

Today. 1996. Autumn.

"What's the point in plotting a fake death if you want to throw it out the window after a few months?" Cassie argued. 

Aegeus shook his head. "You misunderstand me, child-"

Cassie's posture straightened, eyes sharpening like a hawk. "If you call me 'child' one more time, you will find yourself unable to use your tongue for the remainder of your pitiful life."

Draco, having only woken up less than a half hour ago, found his way to the kitchen. Andrew was there--likely avoiding getting dragged into the conflict--and he wordlessly slid a plate of grape leaves over to Draco. 

He mouthed his thanks, getting a wink in return, and popped one into his mouth before treading back into the belly of the beast. The elder Oracle and her were still going at it with full vigor. At least no one had been stabbed in the two minutes of Draco's absence (not that either of them had noticed). 

"What you're asking of us is suicide! Endanger my life, certainly, but you cannot ask me to endanger anyone else!" 

"It is not suicide, She will look out for you, no one will be needlessly endangered."

Cass threw the nearest object (a vase) at the Oracle's head, and it missed him by a hairline as he ducked to avoid it. There was a rather significant hole indented on the wall in the vase's wake. 

She continued in her tirade. "I have a father! He's _human,_ if you haven't forgotten! I have no guarantee She'll protect him, and I care more about his safety then I do your damn prophecy! You've been guessing at this for almost two decades! Just because you think you have it right this time gives you _no right_ to come in here and begin barking orders at me. Now. Get. Out."

Aegeus tutted at her, and Draco wondered the likelihood of it being a closed casket funeral. 

The old man stepped closer, attempting to look down upon her despite her height. "Cassiopeia, do you have a even modicum of respect for your elders?" 

She lunged. Andrew bolted out of the kitchen, but he was a moment too late. 

Cassie's talons had extended, their sharp ends dripping with blood glistening in the morning light. As Aegeus began wailing, clutching at his bleeding cheek and thrashing about on the floor, she made no move to retract the offensive weapons. She stood over her victim with a grim tightness to her face, pinched from the aftermath of her actions. 

Draco hoped that she didn't regret it. He certainly wouldn't have. 

-

"I reckon the Ministry wants to feel more in control over the beasts that Dumbledore's so intent on letting in," Ron commented. 

Hermione groaned, "Stop calling them 'beasts,' Ronald, it's degrading."

Ron's eyes grew as his ears turned tomato red. "Hey, some of them chose to be called magical **beasts** instead of **beings**! The merpeople, for one, didn't want to be associated with vampires!"

Harry would have otherwise struggled with this conversation, had he not spent the entire summer discussing this very topic with both Padfoot and Moony. However, he had preemptively decided to keep quiet should it come up on the train, as he loathed getting into it with Hermione. She was brilliant, mind you, but had a way of making you feel like you knew absolutely nothing at all. 

Moony looked amused from where he watched the rolling scenery out the window. He had tried to sit in a compartment by himself, but the trio had none of that. 

"While that's the opinion of the merpeople, that's not the opinion of the sirens," Hermione stated, "they loathe the beast status as it justified the mass genocide of their kind." 

"Oh?" Ron was an inch away from shoving his foot into his mouth. "And, who told you that? Your siren friend?"

Hermione grinned with pride, eliciting Ron's face to fall. "Yes, actually, I've been corresponding with Cassiopeia all summer."

Ron threw his head back in defeat. Hermione laughed at his expense. 

"I forgot, how did I forget?" Ron muttered to himself, and Hermione's laughter grew even louder. 

Her status as a siren had been revealed early on in the summer by Professor Snape at an Order meeting, along with the revelation that Cassie was his daughter. The latter wasn't surprising to Harry, as in that moment he remembered learning that tidbit many months ago yet somehow forgetting about it almost immediately after. 

Likely the effect of a Siren Song, Hermione had told him. Which had thrown him for quite the loop. 

But it was information that had to be disclosed. Voldemort was after sirens, desperate for their allegiance (or at least their unwilling cooperation) for his efforts in the war. It had been stressed at many Order meetings how the sirens' involvement could make or break Voldemort's schemes. 

Even worse was what Snape shared at the last meeting before term started. Harry had barely been allowed in on that meeting, his attendance being sporadic to begin with. Molly kept pushing for him to be kept out of the loop, but with Sirius as his legal guardian, the latter had more say in what Harry could or couldn't do. 

"The Dark Lord has a keen interest in Narcissa Malfoy," Snape had informed them, "as her husband disclosed to him her status as a Nightingale siren."

Mad-Eye (or, rather, Crouch Jr.) had made them learn about sirens in DADA last year. The term 'Nightingale' was not unfamiliar to him, but Harry had gone down a rabbit hole of research after this particular conversation.

"Why would he expose her like that?" Sirius asked, perhaps feeling an echo of concern for his cousin. 

Snape sighed. "Fear. The Dark Lord had plans for his son, Draco, and when Lucius could not offer him, well... He needed to provide an alternative or face certain death." 

Harry didn't typically speak up, but couldn't resist butting in, "does that mean Draco was a siren, too?" 

Snape surprisingly didn't glare at him, but sent him a calculated look nonetheless. "Yes." 

The rest of the adults shared looks of conspiracy, but Sirius and Nymphadora seemed confused. 

"The Black line doesn't have a history of siren blood, from my recollection," Tonks added. Both her and Sirius looked pointedly at Snape to provide answers.

He complied with the wordless demands. "It is said that Narcissa, while born to Druella Rosier Black, has no claim to the Black name." 

Harry's head was spinning with it all, his newfound obsession with Nightingales not helping in the slightest. As the train sped on, and his friends moved on to lighter topics, Harry was still hung up on one Draco Malfoy. 


	3. We all fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: referenced suicide (mentioned briefly/in passing)

Remus Lupin found Dolores Umbridge to be his least favorite kind of person: Power-hungry, entitled, and (to put it simply) devoid of basic empathy. 

Her prejudice for werewolves? Sure, whatever, he could look past that. Her prejudice for who he had chosen as his husband?

Inexcusable. 

"Surely you've considered Mr. Potter might benefit from more positive role models in his life," Umbridge preached, "The boy has surely been through quite troubling experiences and having to be confounded by two fatherly-figures, one inadvertently scarred from Azkaban, and another who cannot even be there for him full-time... It's a shame, really."

Lupin had surprisingly kept his cool for this long, but was stolen of the chance to defend himself by the most unlikely of allies. 

"Pray tell, your qualifications for parenting advice?" Snape droned from his corner of the teacher's lounge. 

Umbridge scoffed, "Certainly more than any qualifications you may have."

Snape set his mug down with a calm slam. "Oh? I did not realize you also had a teenage daughter. Lupin, would you not agree that Cassiopeia can be more challenging than Potter, at times?" 

Lupin's chest bloomed with relief. The old Snape he knew would never reach out the olive branch like this, allies or not. Having a daughter had changed him drastically for the better. 

Lupin hummed in agreement. "I believe that Minerva's analogy of likening her to a 'firecracker' is well-justified." 

Umbridge's lips were pursed, the toad looking like she had bit into something sour. She likely hadn't anticipated the two of them teaming up against her, especially not like this. 

Snape nodded sagely, bringing his mug back up to his mouth and taking a slow slip, as though contemplating everything in life that had led to him being afflicted by the ~~curse~~ blessing that was a teenage daughter. 

"Professor Snape, I did not realize you had a child." Umbridge approached with a cautious tone, treading on eggshells in her inquiry. 

He almost wanted to laugh at Snape's theatrics, barely reigning it in as the Ministry official analyzed them both. The potions professor rested the mug on the edge of his knee, looking towards the ceiling in defeat. 

"She grew up in America, and attended Ilvermorny as a result. Although, last year she decided to transfer here, and you will quickly realize she's the most headstrong Slytherin in the house's history. Merlin knows I hold little authority over her."

Lupin never thought he would be in a position of such gratitude to the other man. He had successfully drawn the attention off of Lupin, for nothing if not the most basic of sympathies. Like the salivating dog that she was, Umbridge bit into the bone dangling in front of her. 

"Your child, having issues with authority? You allow her to comport in such a way with no consequences? I'm partial to believe her mother was not strict enough in her upbringing." 

Umbridge was filled with unsolicited opinions, it seemed. It'd make an interesting year, that's for certain. 

Snape chuckled, the sound lacking in mirth and not reaching his eyes. "Seeing as her mother was tortured by You-Know-Who before she took her own life to escape his wrath, one could say she was a very hands-off parent."

The conversation went no further. Not after a revelation like that. 

Lupin figured it explained a lot about Snape's change in loyalties during the first war. 

-

"This is one of the worst ideas that has ever been concocted in all of history, magical or not," Draco said. None of the Oracles or Elder Nightingales present replied to the statement, but Draco knew he was right. He was rarely wrong when it came to matters like this. 

They were sat in the Xylomancy classroom at St. Achelous' as it was conveniently a wide, empty room. The dirt floor was charmed not to tarnish their robes or togas, and cushions were placed in a neat circle to kneel upon. 

Draco's supposed grandfather stepped forward. As an Elder Nightingale--at least, one of the very few that resided on the Islands--he had been called forth as a governing body in the war planning. Draco was simply glad there were individuals here with more authority than the bloody Oracles and their prophetic bullshit. 

Ezio cleared his throat. "I can't help but agree with my grandson."

"Two Nightingales are directly involved in Voldemort's downfall," Aegeus reminded them for the millionth time, "it's imperative they be accessible to those seeking to defeat him."

"You're not even certain it is my bloodline that are implicated in the prophecy," Ezio countered. 

A younger Oracle that glanced nervously around the circle raised a hand before interjecting, "Actually, we are positively certain this time. Cassiopeia's natural talent for Divination and Draco's aptitude with aquatic alchemy signifies how each are blessed by Her. They've been given the two most powerful tools a siren can possess, and they were born exactly twelve moons apart. We overlooked them the first time around because we were unaware that Narcissa Black was a siren, we had no way of knowing her son was also a siren by relation. They're the only two that are twelve moons apart in the timeline of the prophecy, and both are children of a pair of fraternal twins!" 

Her words had grown into a hurried excitement by the end. Draco was glad she found his birthright prophecy so fascinating. He loved not having a say in his destiny. Not having a choice in the war. 

Cassie was uncharacteristically subdued. Aegeus had ordered she be dosed with a potion before the meeting, and Draco wanted to carve the proud smirk off of his face when the potion took effect. He'd likely have to get in line, however, with the murderous intent that was clear in Andrew's eyes. Damn Andrew, only he could make bloodthirst look attractive. 

Ezio was not fond of the young Oracle's words. "You are asking to put my only two descendants in the line of fire. The last of my blood, served up on a platter to the very monster that ripped my children's lives from me. Their parents. Justify this to me; do their lives truly mean more than others' if they must risk a premature death? These are children. Not soldiers for some goddamn war." 

Aegeus ignored him almost entirely. "Sirens are natural-born killers. We were not make to roll over and expose our bellies, we were designed to protect ourselves from threats! We are the legacy of prey turned predator. They have a duty to their kind to fulfill the prophecy, lest we become prey once more."

Ezio continued to argue, with the occasional shout of agreement from the other two Elders with him. The Oracles, on the other hand, did not seem eager to try and defend Aegeus. Instead, they had no qualms with throwing him to the wolves. 

Draco had heard enough. The decision had been made for him before he had even been conceived. This meeting was a formality; you would be foolish to think otherwise. Come tomorrow, he'd be shipped off to Hogwarts, no matter how he felt. He had no say, and never would. 

At least he wouldn't be Draco there. At least he'd have a mask to hide behind. The perks of Polyjuice Potion, and all that. 

-

"Harry, this is the fourth time you've read that book cover-to-cover. It's not going to change, so you may as well just say what's on your mind."

Hermione had pressed on the spine of the book he was holding, forcing it down and away from his face. He never thought she'd interfere in him trying to research, for Merlin's sake. 

He closed it, but held it on his lap instead of setting it aside. "It says that sirens almost never get sick."

Ron groaned, not needing to verbalize his 'not this again' for his message to come across. Hermione somehow hadn't reached that point yet, but still seemed on the verge of exasperation. 

"They're still able to, did you read the section on gill infections? Or the one on peculiar parasites?" She did her best to be helpful. Circe knows how much of a sensitive subject Draco was to Harry. 

"Yes, but his symptoms don't line up with any of them! It all sounds like symptoms of delayed growth spurts and siren presentation, which is common in sirens hidden among wizard-kind. His death doesn't make any sense-"

Someone cleared their throat from behind them, and Harry nearly fell out of his seat, not recovering well when faced with Professor Snape. They really should not have been having this conversation in the library, of all places. 

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Have you considered that Mr. Malfoy did not, in fact, succumb to illness? There are many other proven ways for one's life to end." 

Harry couldn't accept that as an answer. "Sir, if Draco really was a siren like his mum, wouldn't he want to go into hiding if Voldemort was hunting sirens?"

"He died weeks before we knew that Voldemort was back," Hermione clarified for him, like he wasn't already considering that tidbit of information.

Snape squinted at her for a brief moment, before sighing in defeat. "I believe you will find that come tomorrow morning, Hogwarts will become home to many more magical beings than there are today." 

"Professor, does that mean-" Harry started, and Snape silenced him with a hand snapping into the air, doing the sign for him to zip his mouth shut. 

"When individuals in hiding are on the move, you will find that said travels are held in the highest of secrecy, as to not endanger them any further."

Snape turned, robes whipping with the curt motion, and he marched away to avoid further questioning. Harry's heart was attempting to barrel its way out of his chest with how hard it was beating. What Snape suggested... It changed everything. He didn't even try to deter Harry from his investigation, and his admitted defeat was as good as proof! 

"Harry," Hermione warned, but he paid her little mind. 

"He's alive," he whispered, more to himself than the others. 

Now Ron looked concerned. "Mate, that's not what Snape said. He just said that there's more than one way to die, and that lots of sirens are in hiding right now. Including his daughter, I'm sure he could care less about your weird obsession with his dead godson."

Harry couldn't even find it in him to get mad at the nonsense Ron was spewing. He would be here tomorrow, they would see for themselves! Draco would be back, and Harry could finally talk to him about-

_Bloody hell._

Harry would have to talk to him. Talking. To Draco Malfoy. 

_Shit._


	4. Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: hallucinations/delusions

Thirteen sirens would be sent to Hogwarts by sunrise. They were to aid the Light in their war efforts, gain their trust whilst learning to trust them. The Ministry had sent an Inquisitor to oversee them, with guarantees that no harm would come to them. 

A bunch of bull, in Draco's opinion. 

The thirteen were sat in the astronomy tower of St. Achelous' like lambs waiting to be sent to slaughter. It wasn't so much nervous energy that filled the moonlit room, rather a resigned dread at what was to come. 

Corey pressed into Draco's side, and he returned the gesture. He wouldn't be alone in this. Had someone to confide in. He thought back to the conversation they'd had only a few hours prior sat on the rocky shoreline of the island. 

Each crashing wave sent a cooling spray of ocean mist onto them. The sun was obscured by overcast clouds yet the temperature was pleasant, a mild warmth that made the mist neutralize the setting into a temperate calm.

The two of them had just gone for a swim near a neighboring reef. They had played a game of _wracked_ \--a child's game consisting of trying to shove each other into a sea urchin while trying not to get splayed by their spikes--until they were overcome with laughter that blinded them in their efforts; The urchins surely were not pleased at being disturbed so late in the evening by siren's tails crashing into them full-force. 

So they laid on the rocks, tails dangling off into the lulling water as exhaustion seeped further into their bones. 

"You know," Corey said, "It's a shame, really. How at Hogwarts, you'll be concealed by polyjuice potion."

He turned to look at his companion, and tilted his head with a raised brow. 

Corey released a strained laugh which he then tried to conceal with a cough. He was focused on something in his hands, fiddling with it before he continued. 

"I just meant, um, that we... That I won't be able to see your face. I rather enjoy looking at it."

Draco blinked. "Uh, thank you, Corey."

 _Great response, idiot_. 

He reached out for Draco's hand, his grasp gentle around Draco's wrist as he turned it palm up. Whatever he had been fidgeting with was pressed into Draco's palm, smooth and heavy and cooler than the ocean spray that held in the breeze. Corey's fingers ghosted over his skin a moment after his wrist was released, leaving an echo of their warmth behind as they retreated back to Corey's lap. 

Draco brushed his thumb over the precious stone. His heart felt just as heavy inside his chest. He knew this had been coming. 

"It's a blue lace agate. It represents justice and loyalty, and reminds you to feel lighter even in battle. It's a healing stone for Gemini, but also one for protection from negative energies. I felt it was best suited given everything that's ahead."

"It's beautiful," was all he could manage to reply. And, it was. A lighter blue that was almost lavender, the stone had wispy bands of white and bleached violet layered throughout. 

Corey reached out to embrace his hand with both of his, palms cradling him like he was an injured bird. Draco couldn't find it in him to say 'no' to the question resting on the tip of Corey's tongue. 

"With all these uncertainties, there are few left that we can trust. But, Draco, I trust you with my life. I can only hope that you would trust yours with me. Dray, do you accept my offering for courtship?"

He swallowed, trying to clear his dry throat. "I do."

The way Corey had smiled at him after eased the guilt that was building inside him. Corey was genuine in his friendships and spread his contagious happiness like the plague. He was loyal like no other, and would never willingly do anything that would hurt him. 

Perhaps what made it so difficult was the fact that Draco truly did care for him. Even if his heart was still caught up somewhere else, there was someone here right in front of him that guaranteed a life of security. Corey was a siren, meaning once the war nonsense was over they could hideaway within the safety of the Islands. His mother was here, likely would remain here for the rest of her life, and if Draco mated another siren she'd be ecstatic for him. 

It was almost a one hundred percent guarantee that Corey had already asked her for her permission. 

So, as their sides were pressed together in the astronomy tower, Draco's mind was spinning. It did not matter that they were going back to Hogwarts. Potter was trouble, would only endanger everyone Draco cared about as well as Draco himself, and Draco's sirenhood would put an even larger target on both of their heads. There was also the hiccup of Draco being technically dead to the wizarding world, including Potter, and that the golden boy would never consider stooping so low as to think a siren anything other than a monster. A threat. 

They were good for the war, but nothing else. No siren would be surprised if at the end of the day, the Ministry threw them away like trash, hunting them down and skinning their tails despite their cooperation. Wizards weren't to be trusted. Only sirens would look out for sirens. Harry Potter would never be fully on Draco's side. Their kiss meant nothing. Potter was likely delusional from shock, had only kissed him because he had no clue. 

The door creaked open, the high-pitched whine drawing the room's attention. It was one of St. Achelous' professors, but Draco couldn't remember their name. Perhaps she was the Potions Master? 

"Draco, Cassiopeia, you have been summoned by Elder Ezio." 

-

His hands shook violently as he took the vial from Aegeus. Ezio would fall into an early grave if he knew what was happening. 

"How are you certain this won't kill us?" he asked once more, needing to hear some type of reassurance. 

Aegeus had the audacity to roll his eyes. "She would never let that happen, not to you two." 

Anger radiated off of Cassie in waves. Draco felt like he was going to be sick to his stomach.

Cassie scoffed, "yeah, just like how She was the one to tell you to have us poison ourselves, makes a whole lot of sense."

"You will not 'poison' yourself, please, there's no need for dramatics."

Cassie was shaking, the fury on her face enough to make Draco pull his shoulders in on himself. "The reflecting pool water is toxic! If it doesn't kill you, it drives you mad! I don't see how that helps us at all in our fight to keep sirens safe!" 

The Eldest Oracle seemed to share not even one of her worries. "You are both blessed directly by Her. If anyone was meant to drink the sacred water, it would be you."

Draco uncorked the vial. Worse case scenario? He drops dead. 

The motion was watched by a glaring Cassie that seemed ready to strike the vial out of his grasp in a moment's notice. He wished he was courageous enough to smash it onto the ground and stomp on the glass shards. If only. 

"I am not giving you advice, children." Aegeus stared firmly at Cassie's still-corked vial. "My words are guidance, and they hold worlds of weight compared to yours."

Draco downed the water all in one swig. Cassie looked at him in horror. He felt no different. Maybe it took a minute to drop dead? 

He reached out to support her hand holding the vial with one of his, using the other to uncork it. He pressed it towards her, silently pleading with her to get it over with. This was not a battle they could win. No one would believe them. Not an accusation like this, not against the most respected Oracle of the Islands. Perhaps the old kook was right in a sense. Maybe She wouldn't let this harm them more than She had to. 

A tear rolled down Cassie's cheek, hitting the floor with the faintest of sounds. Drip. 

Drip. 

The next tear was rerouted as she tipped her head back and emptied the vial, falling into her hair where it would stay. He stared at the spot where he thought he saw it run off, when rogue shadows slipped into the corners of his vision. He spun to keep up with them, to catch them in full view, and they mocked him. 

By the door was a tall one that sounded like tiny cymbals clinking around with each dart to-and-fro. The window, the shortest, rumbled like a tiger ready to leap and devour its prey. They were fast, unstoppable, even as Draco tripped over himself in his pursuit of them. He was spinning and spinning and spinning until he collapsed into a heap. 

The others had left him alone with the shadows. He cried out for them as they grew faster and faster, running on the walls in a taunting jeer. 

"Make it stop, make it stop!" he whined, curling into himself and rocking back-and-forth on the balls of his feet. The rumbling and clanking grew in volume and speed making his brain throb inside his head, made him feel like blood was pouring from his eyes. 

Then, it stopped. At first, he was afraid to look, in case it was a trap. Yet the curiosity--or perhaps it was fear of the unknown--overtook him and forced his head up to take inventory of his surroundings. 

The shadow people were gone, but they had left behind an accomplice. This shadow was different than them. Like a cobra, its color a violent red; the red you see in a lightning storm, that dramatic flash right before lightning strikes, the red you see when you squeeze your eyes so tight you see stars. 

The cobra made no noise. It did not occupy the walls like his friends, instead opting for the stone floor, slithering with an eerie grace towards Draco. He was paralyzed, captivated by the creature. It stopped mere centimetres from his feet and the two stared at each other for what felt like hours. It was then, when Draco finally let his guard down, blind in the belief that perhaps the cobra was an ally, that it struck. Lunging fangs first towards his face, Draco recoiled with a scream from the anticipated agony that was about to befall him. 

He gasped awake. 

"Hey, are you alright?" Corey questioned, blinking wearily as he sat up in his sleeping bag. They were in a tent. _The Forbidden Forest,_ Draco's unconscious supplied him. He had no recollection of how he had gotten here. 

The other eleven sirens stayed fast asleep around them. Even Cassie, who was so deep in slumber a small puddle of drool was forming on Andrew's shoulder. If only he had a camera. 

"Yeah, bad dream 's all," he grumbled, pulling his blanket tighter around himself. 

"C'm'here." Corey unzipped his sleeping bag, holding it open.

Draco shuffled over, desperate for anything that would cure his trembling nerves. An arm tucked itself around his shoulders, the weight a reassuring presence to his fraught mind. 

Corey pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "Get some sleep, only a few more hours until we leave for Hogwarts." 


	5. Thirteen

The hike through the forest felt like a blur. It had been a far walk--was it three miles? Four?--yet it felt like it had only taken them five minutes. The trees were thinning out, the beige castle walls peering through to confront him. They stopped, and Corey reached into his knapsack to rummage around. 

"Ah, here it is."

He held a vial of polyjuice potion out to Draco who could only stare in response. Panic filled his brain with loud static, a lump growing in his throat as his chest tightened. Everything was red. 

"Draco? You need to take it before we go inside. C'mon, it doesn't taste that bad."

He took a step back. It was all red. The glass vial mocked him, jeered at his cowardice. 

"I'm not taking it," he whispered. 

Corey leaned in to hear him, his expression turning from confusion to concern. "Cassie? Can you come 'ere?" 

Was she far away? Why was she far away? She popped into his tunnel vision, placing her hands on his face to force him to look at her. 

She asked no questions. The answers must have been clear as day in his eyes. By the time she was through analyzing him, Draco was trembling like a leaf. 

"Are you sure?" was all she asked. 

He nodded. 

"Alright." She looked at the others. "No polyjuice. Let's roll." 

-

The thirteen were ushered into the castle before the students could wake up and catch a glimpse. It was Pomfrey, of all people, who greeted them and led them to their new residence. Walking past the entrance to the Slytherin common room, they came to the same portrait of a kraken that marked the entrance to Draco's private quarters from last year. Pomfrey taped thrice on its head, and it swung inward to reveal a room quite transformed from the one he remembered. 

There was a proper common room this time. Draco was drawn instantly to the far wall, his feet carrying him to the enormous windows that looked out into the Black Lake. It was nostalgic of the Slytherin common room while also nothing like it at all. The entire wall was comprised of floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the room in a greenish glow. 

Draco pressed a palm to the window. He was itching for a swim right about now. 

Others had been automatically drawn to the windows as well, but some were examining other parts of the room. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Andrew over by one of three large fireplaces basking in its warmth. The wall space between the fireplaces consisted of expansive bookshelves. The floor was littered with cushions and plenty of cozy seating, the whole room coming together through a blue-green color scheme. 

The far wall had an entrance to a spiral staircase. Corey was standing next to it and looking at Draco in a way that made him suspect he had been waiting for him to catch his eye. He strolled over, letting Corey hook an arm in his before ascending. 

There were private dormitories for each of them--with the exception of Cassie and Andrew who shared one--simple rooms with a bed and a desk connected to a private bath. Like last year, there was a pool in the bath, appearing bottomless at first glance. Hopefully with an entrance leading to the lake. 

Leaving the bathroom, Draco did a double take. There were two beds. 

Corey ran into Draco's back from where he stood stunned in the doorway. _Curse this bloody magical castle adjusting things without his conscious permission-_

"I suppose this is our room now," Corey laughed, not phased in the slightest as he maneuvered around him. _Why wouldn't Corey want to room together with the siren he's courting? Why did Draco not_ _want to?_

_-_

The common room, as it turned out, could transform into a makeshift classroom. Four tables lined the bookshelf/fireplace wall with three chairs at each. An extra chair sat awkwardly in front of the table closest to the dorms. Draco dragged it behind the table before climbing over to the chair squished against the wall. The corner spot helped release some of the tightness in his chest that had been building all morning. 

There was a toad-like woman dressed in all pink stood at the common room entrance that watched them like a hawk as they took their seats. His instincts screamed that she couldn't be trusted. Her frilly pink exterior was doing her no favors either. 

Cassie sat in the chair next to him, followed by Andrew next to her, and Corey on the end. The room was silent. No nervousness. No excitement. Simply silent. 

"Hello new students," the pink lady greeted with the world's most sugary tone, "I'm Miss Dolores Umbridge, the appointed High Inquisitor of Hogwarts by the Ministry of Magic. During your stay here I will be overseeing your education, but more importantly, getting to know you all. The Ministry is quite curious about sirens, you see, and I've been tasked with reporting my findings to the Minister himself. Now-"

Someone from a middle table cleared their throat. It was Eliot, a Sounding Tomb around Andrew's age, a siren that had been Head Boy at St. Achelous'. If they were sorted, he'd be a Gryffindor, no doubt.

"Pardon the interruption, but if the Ministry wants to know more about us, they need to prove they're not going to come and slaughter us all the second we're no longer beneficial to them. If you need a tidbit for your findings, here's something: Does the Ministry want to kiss our asses individually, or are they okay with just eating shit to compensate?"

Umbridge could have had steam coming out of her ears with a look like that on her face. 

"Why you insolent little-"

Eliot whistled a low note, and her jaw slammed shut. It earned a few chuckles from around the room, and not even Draco could resist his smirk. The Ministry better learn quickly who they were dealing with, or they were going to be in for a world of hurt. 

When she was released from the Song, Umbridge rubbed at her jaw with a grimace. However, there was a new spark of uncertainty in her eyes as she scanned over all of them. She paused briefly at Draco's white-blond hair, then shook her head as she looked away. If she was too thick to recognize the dead-giveaway that he was a Malfoy, then there really was little hope for her when dealing with thirteen magical _beasts._

Perhaps by the end of the year, the Ministry would be prompted to change their classification to magical _being._

Umbridge blabbed on about classwork and whatnot, and Draco zoned out to stare out into the lake. If all his classwork was to be done in here, then he was never going to get anything done. They would have been better off facing the desks away from the windows. 

Lunch was a much desired break. Draco didn't even care at the fuss he was sure to cause. He was desperate to stretch out his legs--as he hadn't yet a chance to stretch out his tail--and felt a newfound confidence at the attention he would bring. This year he didn't have to hide what he was. It didn't matter what the others thought or said about him, because this time Draco was different. 

He pointedly ignored the stares and whispers as they entered the Great Hall in a tight formation. Many were about there being actual sirens in the castle, but quickly the chatter evolved as they made it to their table.

"That's Draco Malfoy! His cousin, too!"

"I heard rumors his mum was a siren-"

"Didn't he die? How's he a siren?"

They sat, and Cassie leaned over his shoulder. "I love being reduced to Draco Malfoy's _cousin._ "

He shoved her off with a laugh. "At least you're not my post-humorous wife?"

Cassie made a gagging noise, pretending to vomit all over the table. "I'd rather impale myself on a Victorian fence than have that image forced into my thoughts one more time."

"Must we always have such vivid conversation at mealtimes?" Andrew complained. 

"This is nothing like the conversation about eating placenta!" Cassie leapt to defend herself. 

Andrew put his head in his hands. "I'd forgotten about that, thank you so much for reminding me."

Draco shrugged, adding, "That was still better than that debate we had over landing face-first into a pile of shit versus a puddle of stinky urine." 

Corey shoved his plate of food away from him. Andrew slumped onto the table. 

He was interrupted by Margo reaching over to tap at the tabletop to get his attention. "You have a visitor marching this way."

Draco didn't need to look to know who it was. Bloody Gryffindors. Why couldn't they ever just leave well enough alone?

"Draco, hi!" Potter sounded breathless. He likely sprinted his way over here. 

He looked at the other boy, feigning an air of nonchalance as he kept his face composed. It was his only choice, with twelve sirens' immediate attention falling on him. Corey was right there, too. Draco couldn't risk sabotaging that. 

Potter seemed unfazed at his silence. "How've you been? I, uh, had a question I needed to ask you..." 

"I've been average, I suppose." He kept his tone clipped, guarded. 

"Right! Right..." Potter scratched the back of his head. "So, um, can I talk to you? In private?"

Corey interjected, "Whatever you can say to him, you can say to me."

Draco was surprised at the lack of jealously in the statement, instead reading off a wave of protectiveness. It made Draco feel queasy. 

The lion blinked, then held out a hand. "Sorry, I don't think we've met, I'm Harry Potter. Me and Draco are friends." 

Corey looked like someone had handed him an empty wrapper when he'd been expecting candy as he took the hand to shake. 

"I'm Corey. Draco's potential mate," Corey introduced, looking lost as to how they had gotten here. 

Potter flinched, yet Draco had a feeling it had only gone noticed by him (and Cassie, given the raised eyebrow she gave him). 

"Oh, that's cool. Right, well, I can talk to Draco later, sorry for disrupting your lunch." He left faster than he came, form retreating into a sea of black robes. The meal resumed around him as he stared at the spot where Harry had disappeared into. 

The gemstone in his pocket suddenly felt heavier than lead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it gets worse before it gets better my dudes
> 
> this isn't how I planned it but I have no control over this plot,, this fic is driving itself babey


	6. Blue Lace

Cassie abducted Draco at the first opportunity she had. Said opportunity so happened to be as they were leaving the Great Hall; She had swung an arm around his shoulders and steered him away from the others, yelling some tired excuse about 'needing some quality time' with him. She led him outside and practically drug him down to the lakeside with her arm keeping an iron grip around him the whole way down. 

She released him, which resulted in both of them sitting in a comfortable silence while Draco tried to sort the spiraling thoughts in his brain. The worst part was that even though they ran rampantly inside the bounds of his skull, he had a firm grasp of their significance. 

"When Andrew asked to court you, how did you know?" he asked. 

Cassie smiled, soft and maudlin. "He gave me ocean jasper. It represents bringing love into your life, but also empathy and responsibility. He told me that he admired my strength, but even more so that I trusted him with my vulnerabilities. He hoped to bring out those qualities in him, to see the best of himself reflected within me."

"I don't understand."

Cassie took his hand in hers. "The tradition of gemstone offerings is to choose a stone that best reflects your relationship and what you want to get out of it. He presented the jasper to me as a proclamation that he wanted to improve as an individual. But that's just it, Dray. I didn't see any faults in him to begin with. He's not perfect, no one is, but his imperfections aren't a downside. They're the reason I fell in love with him to begin with." 

Draco shook his head. He pulled his hand away from hers to play with a blade of grass. 

"Cass, I think I made a mistake." 

Her gentle approach stayed the same. "Regarding courtship?"

He nodded, ripping the grass out by the root. 

"Corey will understand. Not all courtships lead to fruition. The whole point of them is to discover what you're looking for in a mate. But you need to talk to him, right away. He doesn't love you yet. You can't let it get that far."

"I know. It's not even hurting his feelings that scares me so much," he admitted, "What are the others going to think of me?"

Cassie nudged him with her shoulder. "You really think they're going to risk upsetting the prophesied saviors? Do you actually believe any of them are suicidal enough to risk crossing me?"

Draco laughed, letting himself fall so he could lay down. Cassie copied him, and they both turned their heads to look at each other. 

"You gonna tell me what it is you find so terrifying?"

"For one, he's human."

She rolled her eyes. "He's also well aware you're a siren. That didn't deter him in the slightest from drooling at the sight of you this afternoon."

He hated that she knew exactly who he was talking about with very few hints. "He did not drool!" Draco protested.

"Even if he didn't, he still looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole when Corey introduced himself."

He grew quiet. The words he wanted to say died before they could even reach his tongue. He turned his head away as he quickly sat up. Cassie waited for him as he calmed the brewing storm within him to be able to speak. 

"Was there a moment when you knew... When you knew you loved Andrew?" he said, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible. 

"Your first summer with the pod," she answered with zero hesitation. "You remember when you first used your Song?"

He hummed an affirmative. 

"We had to dump the bodies in the sea and get rid of the surviving witness. Ironically, not the first time we've been in that particular scenario. But, uh, after I drowned the poor sod, Andrew made this offhand comment. About how he 'wouldn't want to be an accomplice to murder with anybody else.' Then he just smiled at me, and I knew. I was in too deep."

"Wait, when I asked if you knew he was the one, you talked about his offering. If you already knew you loved him, wouldn't that not matter?" 

Cassie sucked on her teeth. "Don't confuse love with ignorance, Draco. Sirens may only love once, but that doesn't mean that the object of our affection is good for us. Look how it turned out for my mother. I don't blame my father, I really don't, but I promised myself that I wouldn't make the same mistake she did. Yes, I loved him long before his offering. But I had to know he was in it for the right reasons and that he wasn't blind to the face of reality."

"Do you think Harry is good for me?" 

She let out a huff of air. "That's really not a judgment I'm suitable to make. I cannot decide these things for you."

"I'm not asking you to decide, I'm asking for your opinion," he countered. 

"I think that he will definitely hurt you, but it will never be on purpose. He will blunder many times before he starts to get it right. He will never be complacent to your true pain." 

Draco groaned, "that sounds way more like a prophecy than just a good guess." 

"Haven't you heard? I'm _blessed_ in the art of Divination." 

-

Despite it being the most awful conversation he had ever had to have in his entire life, talking to Corey was easy once he got the ball rolling. Returning the agate had lifted most of the weight from his shoulders. However, it was almost frustrating how well Corey took it, even with the clear sadness in his eyes. 

"I'll be okay, Draco, you don't need to worry about me. There are other fish in the sea." Corey waggled his eyebrows at the line, and Draco rubbed his temples in exasperation. "Besides, I was beginning to sense your heart wasn't in it. I was waited until you were ready to confront yourself first." 

It had all been much more amicable than he could have anticipated. It might have been better if Corey was pissed at him, or at least a bit more expressive in his reaction! But, to tell Draco that he basically had already noticed and wanted to wait until Draco was able to see it for himself? What kind of person bloody does that? How dare he frame himself as the bigger person!

No, that wasn't fair. Corey could not be blamed for his humility. That was just how he was. Killing everyone with kindness. Draco had only harmed himself in letting it get to this point. He had gone to Corey to forget himself before he was a siren. Tried to shove down that old part of him as a solution to his frustrations. Now, it reared its ugly head. 

Now, he was in an even bigger mess. 

_Sirens can only love once._ If he let himself get close to Harry, allowed himself down that path... If Harry ever changed his mind, if he decided he could no longer handle the idea of Draco... It'd be the end of it. He'd be subjecting himself to a life of misery, a most painful and slow death stemmed from the agony of his own heart. Even worse, if Harry did not make it out of this war... Very few sirens were strong enough to overcome the grief. If they didn't go mad, they died of starvation, unable to even consider the idea of taking care of themselves. Most died soon after their mate, if not out of heartbreak then by their own hand. 

It wasn't a consideration. Draco was long past weighing his options. He was already in the thick of it, and could only ponder which path his life would go down. 

It was too late for him to stop falling for Harry Potter. All he could do was stay afloat. 


	7. Secondary

Andrew was not as passive an observer as many believed him to be. Underestimating him was their first mistake, of course. The rest was all dominoes. 

Cassie shifted in her sleep, and he turned in his seat as she huffed and flexed her shoulders before returning to her state of rest. She had decided to 'lay down for a bit' a little past noon, and had been asleep for five hours since. If there was one thing he did not envy of Nightingales, it was the battle they faced against their nocturnal sleeping habits. Every week he was forced to watch her struggle to get through the day, before eventually getting so exhausted her body would shut itself down under the guise of a 'quick nap.' 

Draco didn't fare much better in that aspect. It was a wonder to him that they could sleep like rocks when the sun was up, but burst to the brim with energy once the sky was black. 

Someone tried the doorknob, and, upon finding it unlocked, let themselves in on their own accord. Corey then moved to sit down on the floor, resting his back against the side of Andrew's desk. 

"I really tried, Andy, I really did. But no matter how much Narcissa asks of me, I couldn't get him to feel that way for me."

Oh, the melodrama. "Cor, you couldn't even get _yourself_ to feel that way about him. With ample time, sure, maybe, but you can't force romantic attraction. If it were that easy, the world would run quite differently. 'Sides, we already knew that it was always going to be Potter."

Andrew's reasoning fell upon deaf ears. "Do you think Narcissa will be upset?"

"Dude, it was Draco's decision to terminate the courtship. She'd be upset had it been you to do so, or if you had tried to sabotage it in some way. She's not blind, either, she definitely knows the likelihood of Cassie meddling is one-hundred percent certain."

Corey twisted his body so he could see the look of confusion taking form. Andrew wished that Corey was trying to pull a joke on him.

"Corey. My mate is a natural born seer, and is attached to Draco at the hip. Tell me that you at least noticed he spends more time with her than he ever does with you or me. Hell, if he's spending time with me, it means that Cassie has decided to grace me with her presence."

His friend rolled his eyes, slumping back against the desk. "Nightingales are just like that, hunting in pairs or whatever. They do it without thinking."

He was about ready to bash some logic into that thick skull. "Yes, they pair up on instinct, but it's because it strengthens their vulnerabilities. Did you not pay attention in first-year health at all? They're the only type of siren to abstain from solo or pack hunting, and they're drawn to each other to balance out their weaknesses. Cassie is a seer, and..." He waved his hand at Corey, prompting him to finish the sentence. 

"Draco isn't?" Corey sat dumbfounded, and he could see the exact moment it clicked. "Oh. That makes a lot more sense, actually."

"Do you feel better now?" 

Corey stood. "Yeah, thanks. I always forget that you're the voice of reason in the pod."

Mm. Him and all the others. 

Corey left, and Andrew went back to his potions notes. He'd been working on the theory for this brew for months now, and he still needed to figure out what could balance out the gillyweed without disrupting the potion's integrity. It also couldn't interact with the Black Sea clay, which was temperate in most cases but could turn south quickly if it disagreed with too much of one other ingredient. 

Cassie stirred once more, dragging him from his thoughts. A shiver ran through her body, and it was enough for him to abandon his notes completely. He spun around the room as he tried to remember where he had stashed his wand to no avail. Seeing Cassie's--which worked just fine in a pinch--he cast a warming charm onto the blankets. She settled, grumbling as she did so, tucking her nose under the many layers of blankets. She always did run cold. He blamed it on how bony all Nightingales were, which was ridiculous considering they were built for harsh, cold waters. 

But, if she lived in chilled waters, she wouldn't have to adapt between temperatures, she'd magically adjust and that'd be that. He wondered if she missed the arctic--even though she reassured him she didn't that much--if she missed being surrounded by others like her. 

For her sake, he wished he could take her there once the war was over with. The cold would weaken him, could even kill him, and she'd never entertain the idea no matter the circumstances. 

Draco would like it there. Of that he was certain. He didn't do well in settings like Hogwarts, at least not since Andrew had come and observed him in this environment. The boy didn't have a confrontational bone in his body, not in the sense that Cassie did. He thrived behind the scenes, using his words to tilt the scales in his favor, using his alliances to his benefit. Andrew found a kindred spirit in him in that sense.

The arctic pod was the definition of passive. Unlike the Islands, only Nightingales resided within, and they minded their own business to the fullest extent. They could hunt in peace there, and the muggles stayed obvious to their actions, accepting it as a residual effect of the dangers at the poles. 

There, neither him nor Cassie would have to be in any danger. Prophecy be damned. Whenever he thought of that blasted thing... 

All it did was fill him with a sense of dread. 

So, yes, sue him for deciding that he wasn't going to just sit there and let things happen. Prophecies were vague as hell, which meant that all the actors behind the scenes would easily go unnoticed. No one even thought to tell him to keep his nose out of it, because they all assumed that Cassie would be the one to get in the proverbial way. 

Not even Narcissa thought to seek him out. When he heard what she'd asked of Corey, he wanted to laugh. Corey, as nice as he was, was nothing like Harry Potter. Even if he was, Draco had his eyes set on the Gryffindor boy long before Andrew came into the picture. He didn't even need to consult with Cass to confirm his theory. Draco showed his hand without even trying to hide it. 

Everything was going to plan. He'd prevented Cassie and Draco from drinking the reflecting pool water, tricked Achelous into thinking they had, and everyone was now in the same place for the rest of it to come together. Severus had even been helping him with his potions, and they were on the brink of a monumental discovery. If they could make a potion that made its drinker invulnerable to a Siren Song, it'd be a game changer. 

They'd stand a chance in this war. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a tad shorter than usual but I was itching to get an update out!   
> thanks for sticking with the story, updates may be a bit erratic with fall semester starting and my professors deciding that I do not need sleep nor a semblance of free time.


	8. Heliocentric

Draco paced a line back-and-forth in Cassie and Andrew's shared dorm. Cass was lounging on the bed, eating pumpkin pie that she'd gotten from Merlin-knows-where, and Andrew was sat next to her scribbling something in his journal. 

"Would it be awkward for one of us not to move out? Would it be awkward if we did? Should I talk to him before moving out, or just do it quickly to avoid the conversation? Should I be the one to ask him to leave?" he rambled. 

Cassie seemed more invested in her pie than she did in his words. Andrew had not once paused to look up from his writing. 

"Maybe I'll just move in with you two-" Draco said, and Andrew's head snapped up to glare daggers at him. On second thought...

Cassie took the last bite of her pie, still chewing as she spoke. "Dray, Corey really isn't that hung up, and he's told you this himself. I don't understand why you're even here. Go find Potter and snog in an empty classroom or something."

He ended up tripped up on his own feet, tumbling to the floor in a flurry of black robes. His ears burned red and not even Draco could tell you which of the two things he was more embarrassed about. 

Andrew turned to her in curiosity. "Since when do you say 'snog?'" 

The inflection he used on the word reminded Draco of how strong Andrew's American accent could be. 

"Get with the times, Drew, the Yankee vocabulary is too crude on sensitive Brit ears," Cassie replied. 

Draco rolled his eyes. She had the vocabulary of a well-educated sailor, it was too crude for _anyone's_ ears. 

Andrew pushed on. "What could you say that would be worse than 'snog?'" 

Both males regretted the question at the Cheshire grin Cassie made, her eyes devilish as she made eye-contact with her mate. Thankfully, they'd never know what she was about to say, as the door swung open in time to settle the mood.

Severus stood with his spine ramrod straight to the point where Draco wondered how much pain the posture was bringing to the Potions master. 

"Cassiopeia, I need to speak with you. Privately," Severus spoke, purposely avoiding the three analytical gazes directed at him. 

She didn't protest, getting up and brushing off her robes of any lingering crumbs, striding out the door and down the staircase after her father. They certainly had the same innate flair for the dramatic. 

He looked to Andrew. "Any idea what that was all about?"

The older siren shrugged, going back to his notes. If he had a galleon for every time he fully understood what Cassie was up to, he'd have a negative number. 

-

Harry wanted to die of embarrassment. He'd had to go and make a fool of himself in front of the whole group of sirens in the Great Hall, had been dumb enough to assume that Draco had... What? Waited for him? They weren't even friends!

He was reminded of this fact from where he sat in the courtyard as Draco and Andrew walked through the entrance. It might have been his imagination, but he almost swore he had caught Draco looking his way a few times. 

Andrew wasn't someone he had ever gotten to know really well, but over the summer he'd learned at Order meetings that he was Cassie's mate. That was important in their culture, something more sacred than marriage. Draco would have one soon, some lousy American that Harry knew nothing about. How did they even know that he would be good for Draco? That he didn't have some ulterior motive, that he'd look out for Draco better than anyone else would?

Andrew was staring straight at him. 

He sat up. Draco tried to turn and run, but Andrew grabbed the hood of his robes and yanked him back. Flinging an arm around Draco's shoulders, he practically dragged the Slytherin over to Harry. They both stopped at his feet. 

"Harry Potter, I am not sure if I've made your acquaintance yet. The name's Andrew. I'd like to keep the chitchat short, as Draco needs to ask you something."

He shoved Draco forward so he stumbled to his knees, almost landing on top of Harry himself. Draco blushed furiously, and Andrew slipped away like a cat in the night. 

Draco fixed himself so he was knelt at Harry's side, clearing his throat to diffuse the tension. "Right. Potter."

"You can, uh, call me Harry, if you'd like."

He nodded. "Right. Harry. This went over more smoothly in my head..."

Harry was staring. He couldn't help it. "How's Corey?"

Draco frowned, until a lightbulb went off in his head. "There's been a development there, you see, I broke the courtship with him, which he took surprisingly well, and that's actually one of the reasons I came to-"

"You broke up with Corey?" Harry cut off his rambling. 

Draco nodded. They stared at each other. 

"Listen," Draco said, "I wanted to talk about what happened in the maze, during the Triwizard Task..."

Harry blinked. Once. Twice. The Triwizard Task. 

He'd been so obsessed over Draco as a siren, he'd nearly forgotten! It had all felt like a dream, or at least some very corporeal hallucination, one that was too blurry in his recollection to make any sort of understanding out of the complex series of events. 

They had kissed. Harry had kissed Draco. _Circe's tits._

"You saved me," Harry word-vomited. 

"Yes," Draco confirmed, eyebrows furrowing as he analyzed his face. Harry's brain was simply a pile of goo at this point. Nothing even resembling intelligence would ever come of it again. 

Draco leaned forward before he spoke again, "Do you remember... What you did once we got out of the graveyard? Back at the maze?"

Harry must've looked like a deer in headlights to elicit such a laugh out of Draco Malfoy. The laughter quickly turned sour, Draco's eyes flittering towards the nearest exit with a nervous jitter to his movements. 

"It's alright if you regret it," Draco spat out, the paleness of his face suggesting that it would be anything but. 

"I don't!" Harry shouted, flinching back at the volume of his response. Draco hadn't even blinked, although the color returned to his face. 

The siren smiled at him, for once his eyes glinting softly, no hint of mischief or disdain. He had somehow moved so his knees were pressing into Harry's thigh, their faces even closer as he leaned in further. 

"Is that so?" Draco's breath tickled his cheek, grey eyes searching. Harry nodded quickly, his neck pinching from the tense motion. 

Not being sorted into Gryffindor for nothing, Harry leaned in the rest of the way, pressing his lips to Draco's with a tentative softness. He lifted a hand up to caress the blond's cheek, and ended up with a hand fisting the hair at the nape of his neck while Draco pressed further into him. It grew progressively heated in a manner of seconds, Draco swinging a leg over Harry's so he was sitting on the latter's thighs, Harry feeling dizzy from the rush of adrenaline that coursed through him. 

Someone cleared their throat. Harry's head snapped to direct his attention to the sound, seeing a very flustered Hermione with a nauseated looking Ron standing before them. Before he could get a word in, Draco snarled at them. 

The harsh sound forced Harry to turn back to him, not expecting the bared fangs and coal-black eyes mere inches from his face. All the knowledge he knew about Nightingale sirens suddenly evaporated from his memory. Draco's hand was still tangled in his hair, the grip tightening as he sized up Harry's friends. 

Hermione relaxed, but Ron looked like he had just encountered a spider bigger than Aragog. 

"It's alright, Draco," Hermione reassured. The snarling stopped. 

"What in the bloody hell?" Ron asked, directing the question more at Hermione than anyone else. 

Hermione turned to Ron with her 'it's clearly obvious, but I'll explain to you anyways' face, but Cassie came from around the corner to beat her to the punchline. Snape followed close behind, but kept a distance upon seeing the state Draco was in. 

Cassie hummed to draw Draco's attention towards her. "Now, now, Draco, that's not how we treat our friends. Come here, let's get you a calming draught, hm?"

She ruffled Draco's hair, and he took a deep breath in. He blinked, and his eyes returned to normal, the hostility draining from his face. Draco looked around, first in confusion, and then in mortification as he realized both the position he was in and that their audience included his godfather of all people. 

He staggered to his feet, Cassie patting his shoulder before turning to Harry. "Next time, you ought to wait till you have a bit more privacy, if you don't want an actual bloodbath on your hands."

Draco ducked his head into her shoulder, peeking at Harry with one eye. 

"A bloodbath?" Ron squeaked. 

Hermione beamed at the opportunity to share her knowledge. "Nightingales are the only siren that form hunting pairs, as their magical core is fairly unregulated in daylight. When solidary, their magic seeks out stabilization, and witches or wizards with a powerful magical core can send the siren's magic into further unbalance."

Harry did remember reading about something like that, now that he thought about it. There wasn't much research on it, seeing as very few wizards documented their companionship to sirens (and the majority of the reliable texts were written by sirens themselves, which were few and far between in the wizarding world). 

"Why doesn't it help stabilize it?" Harry asked. 

Cassie smirked, "they're two completely different forms of magic. Wizards like yourself need a wand to help channel your magic, whereas wands limit the extent of a siren's. It's not dangerous, really, it just pushes us further from our humanity and more towards our sirenhood. It's a protective instinct, really."

He wondered whether or not he should feel more ashamed at the swirling in his stomach at the idea of seeing Draco that way. From the look Cassie was giving him, she seemed attuned to the path his thoughts were following. 

"While this has been enlightening," Snape grumbled, "I have seen and heard enough to last a lifetime."

Harry finally stood up at the reminder of everyone stood around him, and Draco automatically left Cassie's side to help him up. Harry couldn't help but beam at the other boy. 

Ron groaned. "Am I going to have to suffer and watch these two smile at each other like idiots, now?"

Hermione smacked his arm. Draco ignored them, pressing a quick butterfly kiss to his cheek. 

"Would you like to join me tomorrow afternoon to study? I can meet you outside of the Great Hall after lunch," Draco offered, and Harry began nodding in agreement before Draco could even get his full sentence out. 

Draco smiled. Harry had never seen anything quite brilliant. 


	9. And I, The Planets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: violence, blood

Umbridge was proving to be quite the thorn in Draco's side. As she moved to push the sirens into submission, the more they pushed back against her until she finally snapped. 

Cassie applied more salve onto Margot's arm before wrapping it with seaweed. Looking at the burn, Draco could still feel the heat of the flame that had sprouted from Umbridge's wand. Could still hear the screams of agony that followed. 

The cruel she-devil had then blockaded their access to any living water as to prevent Her from washing the wounds away. She had known to wait long enough for the burns to settle, sink deep into the flesh as to ensure a scar would be left in its wake. There were some things that not even She could reverse. It was why there had been no hope for his mother's malady, no reversing the damage done to her siren form. 

"You will find," Umbridge spoke with a syrupy voice, "that the next siren to use their Song against me will come to regret it. If you care for your fellow students, you will learn to behave."

She composed her smile into one of benign innocence. It wasn't able to soften the steel edge in her eyes or the shark-like quality of her teeth. What it did do, however, was throw more fuel into the fire that nipped at their proverbial ankles. 

They were there to gain the Ministry's trust. Not to prove the point _against_ them. Draco reminded himself of this fact as the ugly toad berated him for getting up to use the loo without asking her for permission first. 

He clenched and unclenched his fists, breathing deeply while he worked on calming his expression. He didn't even need to go to the bathroom--that was the best part--he simply needed a break from her breathing down his neck while he tried to complete his potions essay. 

Their class time in their common room was akin to a dictatorship. He longed for their lunch break to begin already. All he had left to complete was his practical work, and he couldn't do that until later when McGonagall came by to evaluate them anyways. So, he sat, pretending to read a chapter of his transfiguration book, aimlessly flipping the page after an undetermined interval of time. On occasion, just to spice things up, he'd flip back to the previous page as if he needed to reread for better comprehension. 

Cassie must have finished her work around a similar time as him. She always did struggle to sit still for very long, and the endless bouncing of her leg was driving him insane as the vibrations shook the table. He exhaled sharply to convey his displeasure, and Andrew came to the rescue. From the corner of his eye Draco watched Andrew hook his ankle around Cassie's, ceasing the tapping and drawing her attention away to something other than boredom. Draco could almost _see_ the restlessness seep from her body at the touch of her mate. Utterly disgusting how sweet they were. 

Umbridge had been pacing the length of the room. He wasn't sure if it was because she felt the need to watch them like a hawk, just in case they decided to strike out at her any second, or if she was trying to assert some semblance of dominance over them through this weird form of posturing. She must be impossibly thick in the head if she didn't understand that their reserved behavior was a courtesy, their limits not the kind to be provoked. 

She had reached their side of the room, and had paused mid-stride upon looking at his table. Draco willed himself not to look up, to pretend that he hadn't noticed. He really did not want to deal with the headache that would come from unnecessarily interacting with her. 

"Boys and girls must stay six inches apart," she tutted. Draco looked up in time to see the flick of her wand that yanked Andrew and Cassie's chairs apart.

 _They hadn't even been that close to begin with!_ Draco wanted to shout in their defense. 

Umbridge leveled a cold stare at Cassie, as though she were the one to blame for the gross indecency. 

Cassie jut out her chin. "I was not aware that was a rule in the student code of conduct."

Her tone had been polite, cautious. Draco bit his tongue. 

"It is a rule whenever I am overseeing you as a student," Umbridge replied. 

Cassie hummed, a noise that could be interpreted as one of mild inconvenience, before she returned to the scroll in front of her.

Umbridge was not finished. "Is something the matter?" she inquired. 

His cousin didn't even look up from her parchment to reply, "I simply find it interesting that you disprove of my physical proximity to my mate, considering the extent of our previous proximities to each other."

He failed to conceal his smirk. Someone from the table over coughed to cover a laugh. 

The toad was turning red enough to match her ostentatious frock. Draco imagined she was not too far off from literal steam coming out of her ears. 

"You are too young to be using language like that." 

Cass closed her eyes at the condescending remark. "Which part of my language, may I ask? I do hope I haven't said anything _improper._ " 

Toad leapt at the bait. "Your language about having a 'mate,'" Umbridge spat the word, "I will not have such nonsense spewed in this classroom." 

A chair toppled over from the speed at which it was pushed back, clattering to the floor as its owner stood up. Cassie finally lifted her head from her seat, if only to look up at fuming Andrew with a calculated innocence to her face.

She certainly knew how to play the cards she'd been dealt. Draco certainly never wanted to be on the receiving end of her manipulated attacks. 

Andrew was eerily calm as he slipped around the table to stand in front of them. Umbridge had taken a step back in uncertainty, the grip on her wand so tight her hand was shaking. 

"It is not nonsense, you intolerable wench. You're allowed to hold jealously over the fact that you will _never_ know the comfort that is to be loved unconditionally by someone--up until their dying breath--but you will _not_ unleash your vile insecurities onto those drastically younger than yourself. You call us your students? Then take a hint from all the other professors in this godforsaken castle, and learn to stop acting like a petulant child with the emotional maturity of a toadstool. You want our respect, really? Then behave better than the _beasts_ that occupy this room. It's no wonder why the Ministry sent you to oversee us. Perhaps they wished one of us would slip up and drown you and your egregiously hideous pink wardrobe in the hell waters that birthed you."

Draco must have a thing for stubborn hero-types, or the room had gone up a few too many degrees. 

Umbridge's mouth opened and closed a few times in a very fish-like choreography. She lowered her wand a few inches, before raising it with renewed vigor. No one had time to react before she struck. 

_"Aqua aufero!"_

Everything after happened in slow motion. Cassie threw herself across the tabletop, her fist clutching Andrew's robes like a lifeline as she tried to pull him out of the line of fire. As Andrew collapsed to the floor, she rolled right after him, scrambling to kneel over him as he heaved and gasped. Draco felt heavier than stone. 

Andrew's hands were digging at the gills on his neck, and Draco realized they were bleeding. Cassie's hands quickly covered her mate's, frantically muttering any healing spell she could think of. It didn't appear to have any impact as Andrew kept choking, a horrid sound of agony. 

"Reverse the spell!" someone shouted at Umbridge. "You're going to kill him!" 

Draco stumbled out of his chair to kneel next to Cassie, feeling utterly useless as she tried to stop the incessant bleeding. More voices joined in the shouting, but all Draco could hear was his cousin's desperate sobs as she fought through healing spell after healing spell, Andrew's gasps turning into a vile gurgling noise until he turned to cough out a pool of red. 

"Reditum." Umbridge sounded smug as she cast the counter-curse. The puddle of blood forming underneath him began to recede. Andrew took in a heavy lungful of air, spitting out some lingering blood. Cassie hadn't stopped with her healing spells, still trembling like a leaf and pressing into Andrew's gills to stop the bleed that was no longer there. 

That had been the curse that had wiped out the sirens during the Great Hunt. Only wizards could cast it, and only wizards could reverse it. Draco shuddered at the thought; didn't want to imagine how excruciating it must be to drown on air. 

He was about to try and calm down Cass but was quickly beat to it. Honestly, he was quite thankful that even in his frail state that Andrew would be the one to comfort her, knowing she'd be inconsolable until she was convinced Andrew would be okay. 

"Shh, I'm here," Andrew had awkwardly sat up, Cassie still straddling his legs. She stopped muttering, a glazed over look to her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin as he hummed a low Song.

Despite all the commotion behind him--Dumbledore was there now with other infuriated professors--Draco couldn't take his eyes off of Cass. Once the thought had wormed its way into his forebrain, he couldn't shake it out. 

Sirens only loved once. When they lost the one they loved many died in their grief, if not by their own hand. 

To see the effects of that fear in his cousin now, he understood the gravity of his own circumstances. How he was exposing his beating heart to a human, someone who could go and love someone else more than he loved Draco, someone who remained whole even if Draco were to perish. It wasn't the first time he had confronted this particular insecurity, but it hadn't ever felt this real. This... applicable, to his own life. 

This is what would happen to him. Perhaps during the war, or perhaps later on in his life. He would be reduced to nothing but inconsolable grief as half his soul parted from him, his exposed heart bleeding from underneath the heel which crushed it. All it would take is a matter of measly minutes. It was that easy. 

Draco was rattled as a shoulder roughly bumped his, his godfather rushing to his daughter's side. He looked behind him to find the room cleared, only a few sirens lingering here and there as they talked to Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, both Dumbledore and Umbridge nowhere to be seen. 

Turning back, he found Severus with an empty vial of Sleeping Draught in his hand, Andrew gingerly adjusting a sleeping Cassie so he could stand them up. Draco rushed to help him find his feet, Severus scooping up Cassie as Andrew swayed back-and-forth.

"He's lost a lot of blood, Draco, help me get him to his dormitory."

-

After two Blood Replenishing potions and a Sleeping Draught of his own, Andrew fell fast asleep in his shared bed with Cassie. Draco had hovered in the corner for the majority of the time Severus spent working, his nerves disallowing him to calmly take a seat. It was only when both the older sirens were peacefully unconscious that Draco dared come closer, if only to better see the rise and fall of their chests. 

He spooked a bit as Severus spoke out of the blue. The Potions professor looked quite pale. 

"I almost lost her."

It was spoken so softly, Draco almost hadn't heard. "Professor?"

Snape straightened from where he sat at the end of the bed, one hand resting atop of Cassie's blanketed leg, like it was the only thing anchoring him to the moment. 

"You may understand, one day, the fear that comes with having a child. The fear that you won't be good to them, won't be there to protect them, won't keep them safe from the world."

Snape had never been the sentimental type. Draco's brain malfunctioned as he tried to think of an appropriate response. 

Thankfully for him, Snape continued. "She may already know this, but when she introduced me to him for the first time, I was the most terrified I had ever been in my entire life. I saw the way she looked at him, and that was all it took. I had lost her."

"Sir?" At this point, Draco wasn't entirely sure that Snape was talking to him in particular, or just venting to the world. 

Snape closed his eyes, stray tears trailing down to the ground. "More than anything, I knew that the day she found love was the day where her life was no longer in my hands. A selfish part of me wished she would never, but I'd be cruel to deprive the earth of the happiness that he brings her. I'd go mad knowing I was in the way of her feeling the purest, most selfless feeling in the world. Yet, I find myself wishing that I had, hid her away from the pain that love brings. Even if it had made her hate me with every fiber in her being, at least she would be safe." 

Draco remained silent. There wasn't really a script for a conversation like this one, especially given the fact that it was mostly one-sided. 

So, he improvised: "Andrew loves her just as much. He'd go through hell and back for her, you know as well as I do."

The professor wiped away his tears, like they had never been there to begin with. He met Draco's eyes with a calm look of resignation. 

"I know. I know. I suppose it is comforting, on some level, to know he will be there for her no matter what your prophecy implicates."

It had been a moment since he had thought about that peculiar tidbit of his life. He chewed on his lower lip in anxious thought, the skin raw and tender from the day's ministrations.

Draco stood up in a heartbeat and Snape didn't even flinch as Draco rushed out, "Sorry, but I need to go talk to Harry." 

And, as he rushed out of the door, flying down the staircase and out into the castle, Snape sat unmoving. His hand still resting atop Cassie's leg, he gave her ankle a light squeeze before he continued. 

"It is unfair what I asked of you. It's better this way. You may not see it now, but you will. I know I have not always been the greatest father, but I have loved you more dearly than anyone else in my entire life, and I will love you even after I'm gone. Andrew, he'll-" he choked back a cry, "he'll be there for you better than I ever could. If your mother could see you two now, she'd be so proud. You're too good for this world, and what it asks of you is unjust. But you cannot follow me in my missteps, and I'll be damned if you get caught up as I try to right my wrongs. I'm so sorry, my little star. 

"I'm so sorry for what I must do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank y'all for being so patient and kind!! it's been forever since the last update, and believe me when I say I've been wanting to write and update this whole time!!! sadly i pulled a stupid and signed up for a fast-track language course in a language I knew nothing about and now I am suffering the consequences :))  
> but it's aight because I kept saying I wanted to learn a third language fluently and now I'm being held accountable and actually learning one so???


	10. Rotation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: swearing (brief), steamy make out sessions, ~angst~

Umbridge did not come back after the incident. Dumbledore had informed them that the Ministry would 'deal with her' for her actions, but they all knew that meant a slap on the wrist (if that) and transferring her to a different role as though nothing had even happened. 

Never one for public displays of affection, Cassiopeia became an octopus that clung to Andrew around the clock. The behavior was unsettling for Draco. She was still acting as though she'd never see him again despite a whole week of breathing and walking proof that Andy was more than fine. 

This information was only relevant, however, because Draco had snuck Potter into the sirens' common room and had led him to the spiral staircase that went up to the dorms. They would have gone perfectly unseen, if not for Cassie pinning Andrew to the wall and blocking the way up. 

Harry awkwardly coughed, looking like he was choking on his own saliva, and Draco threw him a pointed look to pull it together. 

"Oi!" Draco groaned. 

Cassie didn't let up from snogging the living daylights out of Andrew, who had cracked an eye open at the sound. 

The bastard didn't even seem that guilty at being caught as he pulled back and turned to them, Cassie rumbling a low growl of displeasure. 

"Bloody hell, Andy, if she's feral then keep her somewhere she won't kill anyone," Draco complained. 

Andrew grinned, completely carefree about the fact he was the only thing keeping his cousin from mauling his boyfriend. He weaseled out of her grasp, throwing an arm around her shoulders and guiding her up to their room. As she turned, pitch-black eyes looked at him with calculating eyes. 

Then, they were gone, and Draco grabbed Harry's wrist and led him up to his dorm. Corey was out for a swim, meaning the dorm would be vacant for the next few hours. 

After closing and locking the door, Draco let Harry glance around curiously while he loosened his tie and threw off his robes to plop down onto his bed. Harry got caught up analyzing Corey's side of the room, so Draco was surprised when the words that came out of Harry's mouth had nothing to do with his roommate. 

"You were like that, in the courtyard. Your eyes were black like that, like Cassie's." 

Draco hummed for him to continue, patting the empty space on his bed. Harry shuffled forward, skittish as a cat as he took a seat. 

"You called her feral, but that term isn't in any of the books on sirens. At least, not the ones that I've read."

Harry picked at a loose thread on the duvet, eyes cast down as Draco answered the silent question.

"It's just a term we use for unstable sirens. Nightingales are most sensitive to becoming unstable, because our magic is regulated by the moon, but any siren can get that way if there's a perceived threat great enough. Like, if Cassie saw someone flirting with Andrew, she could go feral just because their bond was recently threatened. Honestly, though, she's probably just being overly protective. This whole week she's been acting like he's going off to war on another continent."

The Gryffindor still wouldn't meet Draco's eyes. "What's it like, for you? When you get that way?"

He wasn't entirely sure he had a concrete answer for that. He could remember the moment just fine, how he'd had a burning desire to destroy anything that threatened his mate. 

Draco recoiled at the intrusive thought. Harry was not his mate. That was just the beast side of him, not thinking rationally. 

"It's like, it's..." Harry finally looked up to bore into his eyes. "It's pure. It's like when you have to cast a spell in front of the whole class, and you're thinking about making a fool of yourself in front of them, and worrying about having food in your teeth or your robes on backwards. But when you're in that state, there's none of that. It's just your emotions, stronger than ever, and your mind is clear. Like what it feels like after a fresh kill, or in the dead calm of night when the only sound is the crash of waves."

Harry's pupils were blown wide, until he blinked rapidly a few times and almost fell from the bed. "You've killed someone?"

"A couple, yeah," Draco answered without hesitation, and this time Harry tumbled all the way down to the floor. It was only then that Draco came to the realization that Harry wouldn't understand. 

"Harry, you don't understand-"

"You've killed people!"

"It was self-defense! Most of them were Death Eaters!"

Harry scrambled to his feet. "Most of them?!"

"Just listen, those muggles-!"

Harry turned to the door to make his escape, and Draco panicked. 

_"Stop!"_

He hadn't meant to use his Song on Harry of all people. The second Harry's body froze in place, the fight draining from his body as the fear grew in his eyes, Draco felt like crying in frustration. He was a monster. Harry was afraid of him. 

"They were going to hurt me. Kill me, maim me, and you of all people should understand," Draco forced out to the frozen boy, "They've been killing us for centuries, skinning us for our scales and making us drown in our own blood. You think I enjoy it? Enjoy this? It's not a choice, none of it was ever a choice! Don't you get it?" 

He wiped furiously at his tears, hummed a chopped tone that gave Harry his agency back. It was a miracle he didn't turn and bolt the instant he was back in control. 

"I'm a monster! You knew that! You can't get mad at a _beast_ for giving in to its own nature!" 

The idiot stepped forward, a hand suspended in the air like he was going to try and comfort Draco. It was ridiculous how soon the fear had drained from his eyes, the self-preservation instinct absent. Bloody Gryffindors. 

Draco slapped the hand away before it could touch him. "Don't touch me! I'm a beast! I could kill you right now if I wanted to."

Harry took a step forward. "You won't." 

He stepped back, a slight wobble to his voice. "What makes you so sure?" 

Harry kept moving forward, and Draco kept backing up until his back hit the wall. Harry was now mere inches from him. He licked his lips, and Draco's eyes traced the movement. 

"I'm sorry for getting mad," Harry said, "It wasn't fair of me. You're right, it's not your fault. None of it was your fault, you didn't have a choice." 

Draco gulped. "You didn't answer me."

He smirked, getting closer until one foot was between Draco's, the warmth of his breath tickling his face. "Because right now, you _do_ have a choice. And, you're not a beast, or a monster. You won't hurt me."

Heart racing in his chest, Draco yanked Harry by the front of his robes all the way into his space, spinning them as to pin Harry firm against the wall. The fire that ran through his blood was one of the likes he had never before felt, possessing him as he pressed their lips together in a clash of teeth and tongue. Draco tasted blood, unsure of whose it was, but pressed on, Harry returning the effort just as passionately. 

He pressed their bodies as close together as physically possible, chest rumbling in happiness at the pliant putty that Harry turned into at his actions. He grabbed at his robes, Harry trying to push a little space between them as to be able to remove them, and Draco huffed in annoyance. The other boy seemed to find this amusing as he chuckled at the look on Draco's face before pulling the robes off and loosening his own tie. Draco crowded back against him the second Harry finished throwing the tie to the ground.

There was a sharp knock on the door. He ignored it, knowing that Corey would come in through the bath and therefore was not locked out of his own room. Plus, Corey knew better than to come back earlier than he had promised Draco, well aware of the guest he was having over. 

The knocking turned into banging. "Draco!" 

The panic in Andrew's muffled voice on the other side of the door felt like a bucket of artic water being dumped onto his head. Straightening his rumpled clothes as best as he could, he threw the door open, fear sending hot sparks down his spine at the look on Andrew's face. 

He could feel Harry standing right behind him, hovering with worry and with a comforting hand resting on his lower back. Draco leaned into the pressure as Andrew forced himself to calm his quick breathing to explain what was the matter. It was only then that Draco realized he was sopping wet from head-to-toe. 

"She- She said, she would be right back, but then she was taking so long, so I went- She wasn't there, or anywhere, she just, where would she be? Then I looked, and found the note, and she's not there, Dray, she's not- She's not-"

Andrew had run himself out of breath, and Draco tried to understand the flurry of words being thrown at him. "You're talking about Cassie, right?"

The older siren nodded frantically. 

"What do you mean, she's not there? Where is she right now?" he asked.

Andrew held out a crinkled piece of parchment, charmed waterproof by the looks of it. Draco took it from him like it was a delicate piece of china, folding it out carefully as he recognized his cousin's careful script. Harry shifted to read over his shoulder, and Draco angled it so he could see it better.

No. _No._ _This made no sense!_

"She's joining the Death Eaters?" Harry asked incredulously, and Andrew fell to his knees, forehead resting against the doorjamb. He wasn't even crying. Just looking shell-shocked. Empty. 

_Andrew, my love,_

_There are not enough words to express how grateful I am in being of such privilege as to get to love and be loved by you. There also are not enough words in the world to explain what I am about to do, but I hope that it does not make you think less of me, as I would rather perish than experience such a slight. But, if you have ever loved me, then promise to me that you will keep Draconis safe as you would my heart, and look after my father with the fierceness of Her protection._

_This was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life. Yet, I make it with Her blessing, which gives me enough peace of mind to decide this is for the best. The prophecy that concerns Draco and me declares that we will bring this evil to its knees. For the safety of those I love, I must do my part from the inside. Do not come after me, for the Dark Lord will just use us against each other, endangering us both when there is no need to. Do not try and stop me, or convince me otherwise, as my mind has been made since I watched you bleed out before my eyes. Our lives are fleeting, but I will not be powerless as I watch your suffering. We have suffered too much, and that must end._

_I also must end this alone. To confront the man that killed my mother is a battle I have taken upon myself since my first breath of life, a duty I will uphold, the consequences be damned. I have known this for a very long time, and I think you have as well._

_May She bring us together again,_

_Cass_

Fuck. 


	11. Spinning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: lots of swearing at the end

Draco had been staring vacantly out into the Great Hall for all of breakfast. Hermione hadn't come down, likely passed out from exhaustion or still scavenging through the library for answers. 

At this point, Harry wasn't even sure that it was answers. Just the slightest of hints, anything to explain her betrayal. Seeing as she was literally Snape's daughter, Harry wasn't sure why they even bothered to excuse her actions. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, and all that...

The attacks on muggleborns had amplified throughout the UK. The death eaters were becoming a force to be reckoned with, and Dumbledore had confided in Harry that he found it likely they'd be taking the Ministry soon, especially considering the haunting visions he'd been having at night. Mr. Weasley's screams still echoed in his ears.

"Draco, eat." Andrew's booming voice stared both him and Harry out of their stupor. Draco was quick to eat up whatever had been heaped onto his plate, but Harry had been long finished with his own breakfast. 

It sort of scared him how easily the older siren was faring. He didn't even have bags under his eyes or even seem to be having trouble sleeping, although it was entirely possible Professor Snape was supplying him with Dreamless Draught. But, unlike Draco, he didn't need to be harped on to eat a meal, didn't space out on a frequent basis. He had become mechanical. 

Wake up. Eat. School. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. 

The only time Andrew even spoke seemed to be when he was barking orders at Draco. 

"Harry."

He had been caught in his staring.

Harry sat a bit straighter. "Yes?" he squeaked out. 

His dark eyes seemed sharper than usual, vulturine as they bored into Harry's. "Whatever conspiracy you've got swirling in that thick head of yours, spit it out." 

Quickly shaking his head was his first instinct. It did nothing to get him out of the conversation he was quickly getting drawn into. Even Draco had paused from obediently cleaning his plate to look over in curiosity.

This is exactly what he had been trying to avoid! Sure, if Andrew was alone, whatever! There was no need for Draco to be a casualty of the probable truth. 

At the very least, the other sirens were going about their way, not even sending Harry a disinterested glance. Small miracles...

Andrew repeated himself. "Harry." 

Gulping, he made of point of avoiding Draco's burning gaze, focusing on Andrew (no matter how scary he was, it was easier than looking Draco in the eye as he threw Cassie under the bus). 

"I, well-" Harry cleared his throat, "I just don't think it's that surprising, that Cassie went and became a Death Eater. Snape was one, for all we know, he still is one. She could've been spying on us this entire time."

He shrugged to lessen the blow of his words. Yet, the second he had said them, he wished he had kept his mouth shut. 

Andrew leaned back in his seat, shoulders slumping as the ire drained from his body. Defeated. As though he had considered the exact same thing. He had yet to face Draco to his right, and wished desperately for the growing silence to end. Building himself up, he braved turning to his side. 

The blond didn't even look upset. His eyebrows were furrowed together, nibbling on his bottom lip like he was trying to solve a complex arithmancy problem. It was a much better reaction than he could have hoped for, especially if this meant that Draco was considering his words instead of blinding leaping to his cousin's defense. 

Draco's head snapped over to the teacher's table. Following his eyes, Harry found the Potions professor staring down into his goblet while lost in thought. Finally, Draco would see that the man wasn't as great as he thought him to be. 

Draco stood so quickly that Harry got whiplash looking back to him and then turn again to watch as he stormed up to the teachers' table. The other sirens had decided now to fall silent, along with the rest of the students present, as it was obvious something significant was about to go down. Before Harry could stand to join Draco in support, the latter was already straight across from Snape and leaning over to whisper whatever accusation he had on the tip of his tongue. 

Snape paled, and Harry cheered internally. Caught in the act, then. The professor slowly stood to walk around the table to Draco. The two were talking in hushed whispers, until Snape looked over to Andrew with a strange look somewhere in between a glare and a plea. 

Whatever it meant, Andrew understood, and was ditching Harry within seconds. Not enjoying being left out of the action, he stumbled up to hurry over to them as they moved to exit the hall, but just as he got to the door he was being grabbed by the arm and dragged off to the side. 

"Ron!" he complained, craning his neck around the corner to watch the three head towards the dungeons. 

"Mate, we're going to be late for Charms, and I'm going to kill you if you're not there to be my partner for today's practical. You can stalk your boyfriend around the castle later, we need to get to class."

Harry shoved down the swell of irritation blossoming in his chest. "This is important, Ron, I'll make it up to you another time-"

His friend's face was beginning to turn the color of his hair. "No, lately both you and Hermione have been ditching me to hang out with the sirens, and that's fine. But I'm your friend, too, and you can't just keep putting me on the backburner! Up until last year, you and Draco hated each other. For all we know, he could ditch you for You-Know-Who and go back to being your mortal enemy! Now, you promised me you'd do this for me, so you have to choose. Me or him."

The guilt swirling in his gut told him that Ron had a point. He hadn't been the greatest friend lately, but he couldn't help it! The only times he got to see Draco were outside of class, as the sirens didn't share their classes with any of the other houses. Sometimes they didn't even attend shared meals, and took them in their common room at random, Harry couldn't find any consistency to their schedules. 

-

Harry did not see Draco again that day until he was leaving dinner. Hermione had at least shown up, but had been occupied by Ron asking a million questions about his Potions essay. Thankfully, he was able to get over his slight irritation quite quickly, it wouldn't be fair to Ron after the conversation they'd had earlier about Harry dedicating all his time to Draco. 

However, upon leaving the Hall, he saw a flash of bleach blond hair rounding the corner towards the dungeons. Sprinting after the figure whilst ignoring a yell from Filch about running in the corridors, he barreled into Draco without meaning to. 

Sturdy enough for the two of them, Draco's balance did not even falter. Sometimes he forgot how much lithe muscle his boyfriend was made out of. But, that was a thought to be examined at a later time. 

"Hello to you, too, darling." He sounded both irritated and amused. "You could have just called after me, you know? I'm not actively running away from you."

That... was a fair point. If only Harry was a more thoughts-before-action type of bloke. 

"You disappeared at breakfast," he replied. 

Draco arched an eyebrow, his lip quirked. "Missed me, then?"

If you asked, Harry would not be able to recall how they ended up snogging against the wall. Again, thoughts-before-action, not his forte. All he knew for certain was that kissing Draco was nice in how it made his blood rush with excitement, like the way it did when he took a dive on his broom going after the snitch. Of all the darkness in his life, it was all drowned out with how happy he felt in moments like these. 

The stone walls were cool against his back, rough edges digging into his shoulder blades as Draco forced himself even closer to him. In a moment of panic, Harry realized his blood was beginning to trail south. He tensed for a moment, prompting Draco to pull back to meet his eyes. 

Pitch-black and predatory, Draco's eyes served as a firm reminder of how deadly he could be. Just like the first time he saw him like this, Harry felt anything but afraid. He bit back a groan, and Draco leaned in, hot breath ghosting over the shell of his ear. 

"Scared, Potter?"

"No," he managed to get out. 

Draco grinned against his neck, arms snaking around his waist. They stood like that for what felt like minutes, hearts racing in tandem as they panted to catch their breaths. Harry had managed to get him to take a step back from the wall before the pressure became unbearable. 

Footsteps stomped around the corner. Draco didn't pull away, simply turned to rest his head on Harry's shoulder to see who it was. 

Corey. 

He smiled at the sight of them. Not fazed in the slightest, to Harry's utter confusion. He wasn't sure he would ever truly understand that man. 

"Andrew and Severus were wondering what was holding you up. C'mon, you can bring him with," he addressed Draco, but managed to talk without discrediting Harry's presence. 

They followed down the hall to Snape's office and only then did Harry feel a spark of fear. He had accused the man's daughter of being a loyalist to Voldemort this morning just as he was, and he had an inkling that it wouldn't bode well with the professor. At the same time, it was confusing as to why Andrew and Draco had been conspiring with him seemingly all day, especially if he wasn't to be trusted. Perhaps they were doing it for Andrew's sake? 

Draco guided Harry over to a couch near the fireplace before leaving his side to go over to a solemn Andrew stood staring into the flame. They hugged, whispering something to each other, and he had to remind himself that he had no reason to be jealous. 

Corey had gone over to Snape's desk, but the professor himself was nowhere to be seen. If they had been waiting up on Draco, perhaps the man had made a run for it, given the opportunity to flee. 

The door opened. That was not the case. Dumbledore and Snape strolled in, both unfazed by his presence. In fact, Dumbledore came and sat on the other end of the couch, giving him a twinkling wink. Draco and Andrew pulled apart, and Draco came to lean on the chair of the couch nearest to him, despite there being space to sit. Harry didn't fail to miss the weary glance that was given to Dumbledore before being concealed behind an uncaring mask. 

Immediately, an argument began. Or, well, _resumed_ would be the better word, as Harry couldn't even begin to follow it. 

"She wanted you to stay behind for a reason," Snape stated, and Andrew spun on his heel. 

"You're the whole reason she's in this mess!" 

Draco sighed, "Andy, don't blame him for not being able to control her, you're the only one able to even sway her decisions."

Snape nodded, looking resigned. "Which is why she spoke to no one before leaving." 

"We can't leave her alone in there!" Andrew yelled. 

"You are not going after her! I will be able to check on her," Snape spat, "She will never forgive me if you get hurt!"

Draco's next words left Harry reeling. "I'm going."

"You're what?!" Harry stood, but had to catch himself with the wall as the blood rushed from his head. "You can't go after Cassie!"

Dumbledore leaned forward in his seat, directing his words to Snape. "You should have involved me in these conversations earlier, before they progressed to this point."

The professor looked like he'd been slapped. "She's my _daughter,_ Albus. This is personal. If you haven't forgotten, everything I've done for the past two decades has been for her. You promised to help keep her safe, so pardon me if I don't immediately run to you when you fail to keep that promise. I trust very few when it comes to Cassiopeia's safety, and you've been dropped from that list."

The Headmaster seemed... shocked? Sad? 

"I'm sorry my inaction has made you feel so strongly, Severus. But, I assure you I understand the importance of her life and the role she will play in Voldemort's defeat."

Snape looked down at his desk. Silent. It gave Andrew ample opportunity to redirect his rage. 

"You absolute fucking fool! He doesn't trust you because you only see her as a pawn! She's important because she's his fucking daughter! Maybe we should have gone to the dark side for protection, because at least they'd value our lives! The goddamn fucking murderers! 

"And, you know what the best part is? It's not even because she's a beast. You've done it to everyone! Severus, Cassie, Harry! We mean nothing to you unless we serve a purpose, our lives are only worth saving until that purpose runs up! What do you have to say for yourself, you fucking monster?!" 

Dumbledore smirked, and Harry wanted to punch him, but knew that Andrew would be first in line followed by everyone else in the room. 

"My dear boy, you are simply in grief, and I forgive you-" 

_"Shut up!"_ Draco screamed, and the reverberation of his Song made Harry's joints ache. 

Dumbledore's jaw clacked shut. The old man looked furious, standing and making a move towards Draco, but Andrew leapt to his defense. 

_"Sit down or I'll make you claw your eyes out."_

Snape looked just as terrified as Harry felt. This was not going to end well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://pin.it/3b7MbiX
> 
> I made a storyboard if anyone is interested :) included some visuals for both Andrew & Cassie for how I see them both in my head
> 
> also it's been a MINUTE. school is flying by, but I'm progressing quickly in Portuguese (aka the class that takes up all my spare time) so at least I know it's paying off


	12. Around You

Severus had many regrets. It had defined much of his life, if it wasn't the source of his misery, then it was a byproduct. His biggest regret had been choosing a life of hatred that led him down the path he currently walked, and how it put his daughter's life in the same line of fire that killed her mother. 

He should have known better. 

-

Cassandra was beautiful, even in the beat up state she came to him in. The Dark Lord had been trying to collect as many living sirens as possible, but there were more deaths than actual captives as they viciously evaded capture. Although Severus was not a healer, his aptitude for potions had been sufficient enough to land him the job as the designated caretaker for the five sirens kept locked away in the dingy prison cells in an underground cavern in northern Scotland. 

She had been in the worst shape of the five. The first and only Nightingale they had managed to catch, caught in a rare moment of weakness when she had been out in the daylight. A Nightingale out with the sun put a flashing target on her back, black scales a dead giveaway against the blue waters. Somehow, he never did manage to get the answer as to why she had been out during the day, why she had been so careless.

In her slow healing process he had unfortunately gotten to know her. The doubt had already been planted in his head the moment Lily's life had been endangered, and his hatred for James only went so far. If anything, he had begun to further despise the man for simply putting Lily at risk. Damn Gryffindors and their need to run headfirst into danger with no matter as to who they drug down with them. He figured the reason they'd never gotten along with Slytherins was simply because snakes could never get over their instinct for self-preservation. Their unwillingness to leap blindly into action made them unappealing to the risk-seekers who would never understand their perception of the world. 

Cassandra was always kind to him. At first he believed it to be her way of trying to survive, perhaps part of plan her escape. Yet she seemed genuinely interested in the questions she asked him; why he had decided to follow the Dark, why he had doubts, why he couldn't just leave. She made him vulnerable, had him opening up to her in a way that he hadn't with Lily. Made him love her in a way that made him want to completely sever his withering loyalty to the Dark Lord. 

He had forced her free. Apparated her far, far away and stunned her so she wouldn't try to follow him as he ran away. She should have been safe after that. He should have made her promise to never come near him again. 

He had been ready to lie to the Dark Lord, tell him that he couldn't save her from her wounds. He had reached the point where he didn't care if it got him killed, his own survival had become fruitless, the furthest from being the thing he cared most about. 

It had only taken her a little over a week to find him in his home in Spinner's End. No matter how hard he pushed, she kept coming back, refused to be turned away. 

-

_"You're a good person, Severus. The more you try to convince me otherwise the more I believe it to be true."_

_"Don't." He turned his back to her. "Your very life is in danger every moment you stay here. One of them could come seek me out, he could come here, and I don't know if I will be able to protect you-"_

_She placed a hand on his shoulder, forcibly turning him to face her. She smiled as her eyes flicked to pitch-black and her glamor dropped to reveal razor-sharp teeth._

_"I can protect myself, love. If anything, I'm strong enough to protect the both of us."_

-

Their daughter had been born in Sirenum scopuli for her own safety. Cassandra had refused to name her without Severus present, and had come alone to Spinner's End with plans to take him to a safehouse in the States where the three of them would be safe. They were supposed to meet in an alley a few blocks down at sunrise. 

Severus had been caught up by an unexpected visitor in form of Bellatrix Lestrange. 

He never did make it to the alley that day. 

It was an easy decision to let the sirens raise Cassiopeia. He visited a few times a year, and as the aftermath of the war died down and Death Eaters were imprisoned, he was able to visit every few weeks. As she grew she somehow managed to look more and more like her mother with each passing day. It was both a blessing and a curse that she took after Cassandra. 

He had only meant to warn her that he might not be able to see her for awhile. Barty Crouch Jr. had let it slip to the Dark Lord that he had a siren for a daughter, and once it was out he knew there would be no way for him to fend that monster off. He'd think Severus had done it as a loyal follower, serving him a siren on a silver platter for him to manipulate. Instead, Severus had planned to tell him to kindly fuck off, because he would rather die than force his daughter down the same dark path as himself. 

Severus' mistake had been underestimating her intelligence. Just like her mother, she had a gift in seeing straight through his lies and had been able to figure it out all on her own. Barty Crouch posed as Mad-Eye had discovered her parentage last year, and when the cat came out of the bag that Draco was a siren it was irreversible. Voldemort would know the only secret he had cared about keeping for almost two decades. The last thing in his life that he gave a damn about. 

Cassie had beat him to the punch. Run off to serve Voldemort because she knew he would die trying to protect her from him. He shouldn't have warned her. Shouldn't have tipped her off to what he was planning to do. 

Now he had both Andrew and Draco breathing down his neck to run after her. It was all too familiar to him, their fierce love for someone stuck in an impossible situation. 

And, no matter how much he may have disliked Andrew at first, the darn boy had grown on him. He'd never admit it, but it was the closest he'd felt to having a son of his own. Excluding his ungrateful godson, of course, because the little brat would've been disowned at least twice had he been really his. That aside, if anything happened to either of them, _especially Andrew_ , Cassie would never forgive him. 

Potter had been the most recent addition to his headache. Severus was long past the point of wanting to hex Albus, but the last thing he needed right now was to try and wrangle a _Gryffindor_. 

Honestly, why did Dumbledore look so surprised when Andrew started to threaten the old man within an inch of his life? Did he really think looking to Severus for help would get him anywhere? Just because he was immune to siren Songs didn't mean he wanted to interfere with one in progress. At least the Potter boy looked rightfully scared, he couldn't stand the hormonal tension that arose whenever Draco displayed even the slightest of his siren traits. 

This really was going to be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and then imma sprinkle in a bit of angst, you know, for some *backstory*
> 
> anyways, hope y'all enjoyed this tiny update, this has been itching in the back of my brain for weeks now so I made the executive decision to kick it out


	13. Arnica

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: couple F-bombs, other swearing

Draco opened his eyes to darkness. His head was pounding, his entire body aching from where he'd fallen asleep on the stone cold floor. He sat up, his joints announcing their discontent at the action, and let his eyes adjust to the light. 

He smelled blood. It was fresh, the scent of iron burning his nostrils. It smelled foreign enough for Draco to know it wasn't his. He took a deep inhale. 

_Human_. 

His stomach growled. When was the last time he had eaten? 

Draco crawled towards the blood scent in hopes to find something to tamper his hunger. The room he was in was small and windowless. Had he not been a magical creature, he doubted he would've been able to see a damn thing at all. 

He reached the door. It was a solid oak reinforced with strong barrier spells that he didn't have the energy to waste breaking them down. That's why he was so hungry. They couldn't contain him otherwise. 

He swallowed, throat burning. He searched the floor desperately with his hands, but it was completely dry, even the air lacked humidity. _No water._

A growl rose from deep in his chest as primal anger consumed him. They can try to starve and weaken him all they like, he'd die kicking and screaming before they'd control him.

The magic floating about shifted in the slightest, like a mouse leaving its tracks on a fresh blanket of snow. Someone was coming. 

He laid down onto the floor, forcing his shoulders to relax and his breathing to even out. The lock clicked open, followed silently by the door. He listened as two pairs of footsteps entered, the first more hesitant than the second. 

"My Lord, she's unwell."

_Father?_

He remained unmoving from where he lay as Lucius Malfoy spoke once more. "She'll be useless to us in this state."

The voice that answered made Draco's blood run cold. 

"Perhaps she'll be grateful upon us healing her, then. If we bond her to me then she'll have no choice but to swear her loyalty." 

Nausea made his head spin despite the fact he was laying down. They couldn't. The idea in itself was abominable. 

"I'm afraid that may not be an option in this case," Lucius cautioned, "I know with certainty that she is mated with another siren. Their bonds last even in death."

The Dark Lord sighed, like it was a mere inconvenience. "What about your son, then? It shouldn't be too hard to get him here."

The nausea intensified. _No, no, no, no._

Lucius swallowed audibly. "I haven't been in contact with him for some time now, my Lord. At his age it is not uncommon for sirens to already be mated."

"Hm. Interesting."

\---

Draco gasped awake, falling from the bed onto the stone floor. He scrambled to find purchase before someone was grabbing at his shoulders and he had to kick them away. He turned his head and began to violently retch, his breath stolen from him as bile burned his throat. There was shouting, more hands grabbing at him, and Draco vomited. 

"Stop crowding him!" 

Andrew entered his blurred field of vision, hands up in surrender as he inched closer to Draco. "Dray, you need to breathe. Breathe for me, come back to me. You're safe. Take your time, just breathe nice and slow for me."

Draco emptied the contents of his stomach once more. 

"Fucking hell, I said not to crowd him!" Andrew smacked someone's leg before returning his full attention to Draco, using the sleeve of his night robe to wipe the vomit from his face. 

He sucked in a breath as he collected his bearings. Focused on following Andrew's steady directions. _Breathe in. Breathe out._ Everything happening around him was simply an echo, unimportant. 

"Is he alright?" 

"Potter, does he fucking look alright to you?" Corey snapped. 

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

"Hey, how we feeling?" Andrew spoke with a soft conviction that was only reassuring. 

"I-" he coughed, throat sore, "Cassie." 

Andy sucked in a breath like he'd been punched in the gut. "Right. She's, well, she's not here right now, so I'll have to suffice until she gets back, okay?"

The dream came back to him in pieces, yet also all at once. He reeled back from the sting of it. It hadn't been a dream. It wasn't a dream. 

"Snape, please," he whined, pressing his hands over his ears and clenching his eyes shut as the room came to be too much.

The air shifted as someone moved forward, right next to where Andrew was kneeling. 

His godfather still had the common courtesy to announce himself. "I'm right here, Draco." 

"I had a vision of her. You need to help her."

-

Harry had a tendency to have absolutely no clue as to what was going on around him. Hell, on a good day, it'd be a miracle if he could decipher what Hermione's mood was at breakfast. It wasn't that he didn't care, he just didn't know how to read for any emotion other than _anger._

Anger. That was something he understood. Knew what to look for, the little telltale signs that someone was in a bad mood. The tense way that they carried their shoulders. How they distributed the weight in their feet to announce their entrance into a room, just to draw attention to themselves. The way their eyebrows would pinch ever so slightly to begin with, furrowing as they let it bubble up from underneath the surface. The way their voices snapped from terse to yelling, the whole house reverberating with the echo of it. At that point, there was no escape.

At that point, you hadn't looked for the signs fast enough. 

No one was angry in this situation. Instead there was so much _fear._ It was suffocating, how Draco curled in on himself and backed up against the wall with a whimper, and how the rest of the room followed suit in a staggering unease. 

A bruise was most certainly forming from where Draco had kicked him in the ribs, but that was the last of his worries. Corey had been smart enough to grab Andrew, but Harry was unsure if he'd also been the one to send for Snape and McGonagall. He had sent his Head of House a sheepish look as she had taken notice of his presence in the siren's dormitory. 

While Draco recalled his vision of Cassie and his father, said Head of House calmly crossed the room to hook his arm in her elbow. As Draco got towards the end of it, he was forcibly escorted into the stairwell. 

"Professor, I can explain-" He started, but McGonagall simply shook her head. 

"You were in bed and not out in the corridors, and that's frankly all I care about at the moment. What I want is for you to promise me to let Severus and the Order handle this, and for you to not go rushing unprepared into certain death." 

Oh. Harry blinked blankly at her. 

"Potter, do I make myself clear? If Malfoy tries to rope you into some scheme, I trust you to convince him that the adults are handling the situation. As children, I do not want to hear anything of you running headfirst into this war. I'll hex you myself if you dare set foot outside of schoolgrounds. Do you understand?"

He gulped. "Yes, Professor, I understand."

She sized him up in apprehension, before nodding slowly. "Very well. I'll dismiss you from your morning classes, as Mr. Malfoy seems to be in need of a comforting presence. However, this will not become a habit. I anticipate your presence in your proper common room in the future, for your own safety and for my peace of mind."

"Right. Thank you. It won't happen again."

McGonagall hummed wearily. "Yes, well... Goodnight, Mr. Potter."

He bid her goodnight as well before rushing back into the dorm. Corey had returned to his bed and seemed to be fast asleep, while Andrew and Snape sat perched at the foot of the bed, one on each side of a shell-shocked Draco. An empty vial of Dreamless Drought sat on the nightstand, explaining the way Draco's eyelids drooped every few seconds. 

Snape and Andrew seemed to be having a whisper-argument, but without much heat behind it. Harry approached Draco's head, brushing some stray blond hairs away from his face. The remaining tension seeped from Draco, eyes finally falling shut and staying that way. Harry sat down on the bed, continuing to run his fingers through the soft locks. 

"You're not going," Snape stated. 

"But-"

"No. She made the point in the letter that you would just be used against her, and I'm not going to let him manipulate you both like puppets."

"And there's the same chance that he'll use you to manipulate her! How am I any different?"

"Because, he's operating under the impression that I sent her to him, which gives an advantage. He thinks I can control her, so he won't need to manipulate anyone. He'll simply ask and expect it to get done."

"And when she refuses to do it?"

"Is none of your concern. You will stay here and protect Draco. If you go after her then he'll follow along right behind you, and then that's three sirens in the hands of the Dark Lord. Prophecy or not, I refuse to risk Draco's or your life when there is an alternative solution."

Andrew huffed. "Sacrificing yourself isn't an option, Severus. If I sit back and do nothing and you die, Cassie will never forgive me."

"She will." Snape didn't seem to be having any of this. "Because if you die, then so does she. Even if she doesn't, there is no forgiveness to be had if I let anything like that happen to you. Don't you understand? Everything I do is for her, so she can live! She loves you, and if you feel the same you won't risk her life so carelessly."

"How dare you imply that I would-"

"Enough," Snape snapped. "You need to stay here and protect Draco. He's going to send someone to figure him out, and you and Corey need to be prepared to throw them off his scent. Lie if you have to, but think of the bigger picture. What would She want you to do? Hmm? Why don't you go ask Her about Her damned prophecy and if she has any useful insight? Isn't She supposed to protect you? Go ask her how the bloody hell she let this happen."


	14. These High Walls

"Severus, thank you for coming." Lucius Malfoy looked gaunt. It did nothing to ease the terror swirling in Snape's gut, but it also didn't make it any worse. 

Malfoy Manor was like a Dementor in how it sucked the life out of the room before anyone even set foot in it. It smelled as such, but that also could be attributed to the dead body rotting atop of the dining room table. Even coming in through the Floo, cold had settled into his bones the second he'd arrived. 

The two men stood stiff as rigor mortis. Barely meeting each other's eyes as the silence stretched on between them. 

"And where is the Dark Lord? I presume it was him that requested my presence," he spoke. 

Lucius gulped, face managing to grow even paler. "He, well, has stepped out for a moment. Had something to attend to and, well... He'll be gone for the rest of the morning. I wished to speak with you, privately."

Being privy to information from Draco's vision, he feigned surprise in the quirk of an eyebrow. "I see."

"It's about Draco." Lucius swallowed thickly. "The Dark Lord has requested he be brought here..." 

Snape did his best to school his expression, waited for the other father in the room to say the words first. 

Lucius looked towards the floor, shaking his head slowly like he couldn't believe what he was about to say. Looked up to look dead at Severus. 

The tears welled in his eyes threatened to spill as Lucius choked out the next words.

"He wishes to force a bond upon him. Upon-" he sobbed, "Upon Draco."

Severus didn't try to hide the pained look from his face any longer. He never thought he'd admit it, but he was eternally grateful for Andrew's existence at the moment and the nightmare he'd spared his daughter from. 

"What is it that you wish me to do?" 

Lucius let his tears fall. "Tell me, is he mated? My son?"

Severus gulped. "I'm afraid not."

Wiping the tears away furiously, Lucius smiled manically, on the brink of a nervous breakdown. He nodded at Snape's response, before pacing the length of the room while rubbing at his face. 

He, on the other hand, remained planted where he was. No matter how unnerving it was to watch a Pureblood Lord drop any and all sense of decorum, it wouldn't help the situation if he, too, let his fears bubble to the surface. 

Lucius then rushed to Severus, snatching both hands into a death grip. "He must, Severus, please. You must warn Draco. He has followers in the school, has told them to, to figure out if he has a mate. Please, help me."

There was no need for Lucius to know he had already briefed Dumbledore and Minerva, had the entirety of the sirens at Hogwarts briefed and ready to lie at a moment's notice. Not yet.

"First, you must promise me something in return."

"Anything, anything!"

"My daughter. Take care of her, Lucius, she can't just rot away in your makeshift dungeon and starve. If you wish for me to look out for Draco, I ask you do the same for Cassiopeia."

"Of course, of course. Thank you!" Lucius wrapped him in a frantic hug, and Severus was officially concerned for the man's mental wellbeing. 

"Before I go, can I see her?" 

"Yes, yes, right this way."

-

Draco detested everyone being privy to his business. His safety be damned, he'd like some privacy as well, thank you very much. 

Although, it was only the sirens (and Harry and Hermione) that were in on the know. Small miracles, and all that. He was grateful for their help, really, but they also didn't have much of a choice. Thanks to the prophecy, they'd bend over backwards for him (but only for things concerning the outcome of the war, they weren't about to serve him everything on a silver platter). 

They walked in a tight pack to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was a Saturday, and there was a Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw this afternoon, so the Hall was buzzing with excitement. 

Harry was sat at his own table for that reason, his teammates boisterously causing a ruckus just so they could be the center of attention. Draco ached for him to be sat with the sirens, but that would go against their new agreement. No being seen with each other outside of his common room. Technically, it was Dumbledore who had insisted on that rule. 

Sitting down and picking a piece of toast to nibble on to qualm his anxieties, Draco leaned into Andrew's side. His energy was similar enough to Cassie's that he could almost pretend it was her. 

Andrew pressed back firmly, a hand coming up to squeeze at his shoulder in reassurance. On his other side, Corey leaned forward to speak to Andrew. 

"There's two Slytherins making their way over here."

The elder siren sighed. "Let's get this show on the road, then."

Draco tucked his head into Andrew's shoulder in hopes to hide himself away. He hated how much he had come to rely on his cousin's vehement presence at his side. Although, he supposed his magic had grown used to counterbalancing hers. He could almost feel it now, bundling him in a tight embrace, like the way his mother had when he was young and scared. It was crushing him, squeezing the air out of his lungs. As his vision grew spotty, Draco imagined he was in the deep trenches of the Atlantic. 

Someone called out his name as his consciousness slipped away. 

-

Draco stood in the wine cellars of Malfoy Mansion. It was dimly lit, but he'd recognize it anywhere. He turned slowly on his heel as he took in the room he didn't anticipate ever seeing again. 

He paused at the figure huddled in the corner. 

"Cassie?" he cried. 

Her head snapped up to look at him, eyes dark as the night. "You shouldn't be here, Dray."

He crossed the small space to kneel down next to her, sitting on his heels as he brushed stray hairs from her face. He breathed out a laugh at the physical proof she was here. 

"Draco, listen to me." She grabbed his wrist, pulling at it to bring him back to the moment. "You need to root your magic back to your body, you need to let go of mine."

He shook his head. "You're not making sense, Cass-"

"Draco," she ordered, "You're going feral. Go back, _now_."

-

"Harry, don't!" Hermione warned as she yanked on his robes to keep him seated. He would've protested more, but Dumbledore had swept his way to the center of commotion and sent him a warning look. 

Draco thrashed from where he was being restrained by four sirens, eyes pitch-black and teeth sharp as razors. Unlike the previous times Harry had seen him like this... He didn't seem like Draco anymore. Didn't seem to recognize his surroundings. 

All he wanted was to rush to his side to try and help. _Draco wouldn't hurt him._

Dumbledore raised a wand, and Corey snapped at the headmaster to back off. He kept advancing forward anyways, and Harry couldn't restrain himself any further. Hermione was unsuccessful in stopping him the second time around--likely stunned as the scene before them unfolded--and no one else got in his way as he rushed to the front of the Hall. 

When he got there, Andrew and Corey had Draco on his knees, pinning him to the ground by his shoulders. Another siren was holding down his legs, while another was putting a physical distance between him and Dumbledore. 

"Put that thing down, you're not helping!" she yelled, making a move to snatch the wand away from him. The Headmaster evaded the movement and in the moment he was distracted Harry dove to kneel in front of Draco. 

Andrew, face dripping with blood from deep scratches on his forehead, flashed a grateful smile at Harry. Draco let a out a noise not dissimilar to a roar, fangs snapping mere inches from Harry's face. 

He placed a hand to Draco's cheek, who flinched violently from the contact. 

"It's okay, Draco, I'm right here," he reassured, lifting his hand once more. This time the touch wasn't rejected. 

Draco snarled but otherwise stilled in his movements. Harry rubbed his thumb in circles over the sharp lines of his cheekbone, waiting patiently as his boyfriend's heavy panting slowed to calmer breathing. Behind him, Dumbledore was yelling at Harry, yelling at sirens who were blocking his way. 

Yet all he could focus on was the quick rise and fall of Draco's shoulders, stare into the depths of the colorless eyes. Feeling a surge of Gryffindor courage, he leaned forward to press their foreheads together. _Draco would never hurt him._

They could've stayed like that for hours for all he knew. In the moment it felt like it, just the two of them. Harry focused on staying still and giving him the time he needed. He'd stay like this all day and night if he had to. 

He felt Draco's eyelashes flutter as they opened after a period of being closed. It tickled even more than the tiny exhales that sent the hairs on the back of his neck straight up. 

The taste of blood from where Draco's fangs cut his lips was nondescript to the relief that flooded through his entire being. Draco was possessive in his methods as Harry melted like putty into his hands, more than fine to relent control. 

Harry still felt like a puddle when Draco pulled apart from him, clear blue eyes taking him in with a shine brighter than the smile he was bearing. 

" _Harry_." It was more of an exhale than a whisper as it fell from Draco's lips and Harry didn't want anyone else to say his name ever again. They'd never be able to say it so beautifully, make him feel so worthy of being loved. 

"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore grumbled with enough fury to part the Red Sea. He would've felt more intimidated if it weren't for the way Draco's attention snapped to just over his shoulder to release a low snarl that rumbled through his bones. 

Corey's eyeroll could be heard in his voice. "Sir, with all due respect, fuck off."

In his periphery he watched Andrew kneel down so someone could pour a goblet of water onto his face. Unable to resist, Harry broke his gaze to watch the scratch wounds stitch themselves back together while the blood washed away. 

Draco let out a light chuckle in amusement. "I'd be more upset if it were anyone else stealing your attention from me, but even I'll admit there are few beings as attractive as Andrew."

Harry almost gave himself whiplash with how quickly he turned back to Draco. "You think-?"

"You don't?" Draco interrupted, genuinely laughing this time. 

His cheeks burned and he ducked his head, not capable of forming words coherently. Andrew stood and ambled toward them, giving the Headmaster a warning glance. He kept his voice low as he spoke next, although the Hall had seemingly emptied out since it had all started to go down. 

"It's about time that you and Harry had a talk, Draco." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao Harry is fucking WHIPPED


	15. Heartbreak Weather

"You don't have a choice in this anymore, Draco, you have to tell him."

"I don't _have_ to do anything," he retorted. 

Andrew looked skywards, as if praying for some deity to take him out of his misery. 

Corey shoved his shoulder into Draco's. He could nudge him all he wanted. Draco would not relent in his stubbornness. 

His former mate-to-be cleared his throat. "You knew this was a possibility. Hell, I think we all knew this would be the outcome."

"I'm not going to- It's not worth it."

Andrew looked like he was going to have an aneurysm. Perhaps he was already beginning to have one, given the never-ending circle this conversation had been following for the past twenty minutes. 

"Draco," the eldest siren reasoned, "you're going feral. You love Harry, and he loves you! Meanwhile the Dark Lord is looking to bond you to him! What exactly isn't worth it? This is a two birds, one stone situation!"

He shook his head, leaning back against one of the many trees of the Forbidden Forest. Ironic, how he used to fear this very place for the dark creatures that loomed within. Now, he may as well qualify as the darkest of creatures present. 

"Is this because he's human? I know this is scary, Dray-" Corey's sentence fell off at the sound at a twig snapping from behind. 

The three sirens stood at alert, even when no danger presented itself after a moment's silence. They glanced wearily in the direction of the supposed source of the noise before Corey resumed his tirade. 

"Harry loves you, and nothing will change that. He's a Gryffindor, so while he may do stupid shit every now and then, he's going to protect you no matter what. He'll _want_ to protect you, no matter what."

Draco tilted his head back, blinking away tears with a stubborn grimace. He wished Cassie were here, if only because she would understand how he was feeling without him having to put words to it. It wasn't that he didn't love Harry. To try and deny that was a lost cause. It was the burden of binding Harry to him, forcing him into an obligation that'd only endanger him further. 

Even worse, if the day came that Harry... That Harry no longer reciprocated Draco's feelings...

Draco wouldn't be able to handle if Harry stayed by his side out of pity. 

"You need to be bonded, before the Dark Lord comes for you, and for fuck's sake, Draco!" Andrew gripped his hair like he was on the verge of pulling it out, "You're going feral! If Harry hadn't been back there in the Hall, what do you think Dumbledore would've done? Do you really think he's so tolerant as to've let you keep on like that? We're only pawns to him, and a feral siren is beyond anyone's control! We mean nothing to him!"

He wished he could voice his thoughts, yet all Draco could do was hold back sobs, his emotions getting the better of him. A small voice in the back of his head told him it was because like his magic, he was quickly unraveling, a lit fuse getting ready to blow. 

Another twig snapped, and this time Corey snarled in the direction of the sound. As Snape came out of the shadows, the professor failed to conceal the deep roll of his eyes. 

"Have you finished with your petty squabbling?"

Andrew straightened his stature with a set jaw. "Draco's got cold feet."

Severus walked over to Draco to wrap an arm around his shoulders, allowing him to tuck his face into his godfather's shoulder. He could feel the traces of Cassie's magic still clinging to the man's cloak. 

"Whatever you decide, you know I'll support you," Severus whispered to him, "but you need to decide now. You'll need to leave soon if you're to get back to the Islands, before _he_ comes looking for you here."

He nodded, clinging tightly onto the cloak, pretending that it wasn't just a trace of Cassie's magic enveloping him. He didn't bother to look up when he gave his answer. 

"I want Harry," he croaked. 

Someone, perhaps Corey, broke off into a sprint, the squelch of damp forest leaves and dirt marking his departure. 

It wasn't long after that Draco fell back into the darkness. 

-

"Some nerve telling me to get ahold of myself when you're just as far gone as me."

Cassie smiled at him, her reaction slowed as she barely clung on to reality. 

"I was doing just fine," she replied, "until you pulled at my magic again. I blame you for this mess." 

Draco wasn't entirely certain where they were. It wasn't the cellars, like before, and the darkness around them held a certain warmth to it. 

He leaned his head against hers, fighting the heaviness of his eyelids. "You know, what a stupid design. Any other siren, no problem! But let's make Nightingales have this absurd weakness since their magic is regulated by the phases of the moon."

His cousin barked out a laugh that left his heart aching. They shouldn't be here. They couldn't be here. He hadn't told Harry yet. 

"I never thought that this was how we'd go out. Never thought I'd go feral and that'd be the end of it," Cassie admitted, "Always thought it'd be with Andrew at my side."

He choked out a laugh, not fighting the tears that fell. "Even now, you two are still disgusting." 

There was a wide berth of silence, followed by a question spoken so softly it could've been mistaken for a flutter of feathers, like a pin dropping. 

_"Is he mad at me?"_

God, Harry was going to hate him. If he found out this all could've been avoided, if it hadn't been for Draco's cowardice in confronting his feelings. 

"Andrew can never stay mad at you, I'm fairly certain he forgave you before he even processed what you'd done."

He received no reply, but didn't anticipate one at first. He wondered if it was exclusive to sirens, or if Harry could love him enough to find forgiveness as well. Guess it was too late to find out now. 

"Cass?"

He turned to look at her, but she'd closed her eyes, slouched against him where their bodies were pressed together. If this was going feral, just like falling asleep, then how bad could it really be? 

It'd been a long time since Draco had truly rested. 


End file.
